THE  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 
OF  ART 


COLLECTION  OF 
ARMS  AND  ARMOR 
INCLUDING 
THE 
WIUIAM  H.RTGGS 
DONATION 


MCMXXI 


Library  of  the 
University  of  jSorth  Carolina 

Endowed  by  the  Dialectic  and  Philan- 
thropic Societies 


r 

I 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 
AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 
SOCIETIES 


NK6602 
A6 


UNjVERSj  jY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 

00008836913 


This  book  is  due  at  the  WALTER  R.  DAVIS  LIBRARY  on 

the  last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold,  it  may 

be  renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE  DUE 

RETURNED 

DATE  DUE 

RETURNED 



OCT  2  5 

2013 

-  

FORM  NO  513, 
REV.  1/84 

Digitized  by 

the  Internet  Archive 

in  2014 

https://archive.org/details/handbookofarnnsarOOmetr 


THE    METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM 
O  F   A  RT 

HANDBOOK  '^^ 

yn  A  OF 

ARMS  AND  ARMOR 

EUROPEAN  AND  ORIENTAL 
INCLUDING 

THE  WILLIAM  H.  RIGGS 
COLLECTION 

BY 

BASHFORD  DEAN 


NEW  YORK 
MCMXXl 


Armures,  perle  des  collections,  orgueil  des 
musees,  reve  caresse  souvent  en  vain  par  tant 
d' amateurs.  .  .  .  Rien  nest  plus  rare  qutme 
armure  ancienne, 

Paul  Eudel,  1907 


COPYRIGHT 
BY 

THE   METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM  OF  ART 
JANUARY,  1915 


PLAN  OF  GALLERIES  OF  ARMOR 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 


List  of  Illustrations  ix 

Handbook: 

I  Introduction  i 

II  The  Present  Collection  and  its 

Arrangement    9 


III  Earliest  Arms  and  Armor  ...  20 

IV  Arms  and  Armor  of  the  Bronze  Age 

and  Classical  Antiquity     .    ,  22 

V  The  Early  Centuries  of  the  Chris- 

tian Era  32 

VI  Chain-Mail  and  Mediaeval  Armor  .  35 

VII  The  Period  of  Transition  from 

Chain  -  Mail  to  Plate  -  Armor 
(1200- 1 400)  42 

VIII  The  Period  of  Plate-Armor  and 

Fi re-Arms  (1400- 1780)  .  .  .45 
A  Armor  of  the  Fifteenth  Century  46 
B  Arms  of  the  Fifteenth  Century  .  54 
C  Armor  of  the  Maximih'an  Period 

(1500- 1 5  30)  59 

D  Jousting  Armor  63 

E  Arms  of  the  Early  Decades  of  the 

Sixteenth  Century  ....  67 
vii 


Vlll  TABLE    OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

F  Armor  of  the  Middle  and  Late 

Sixteenth  Century  ....  69 

G  Swords  and  Daggers  of  the  Sec- 
ond Half  of  the  Sixteenth  Cen- 
tury  73 

H  Pole-Arms  75 

I    Bows,  Arrows,  and  Crossbows  .  78 

J    Fire-Arms  of  the  Fifteenth  to  the 

Eighteenth  Century     ...  82 

K  Arms  and  Armor  of  the  Seven- 
teenth Century  94 

L  Horse  Equipment  during  the  Six- 
teenth and  Seventeenth  Centu- 
ries  103 

M  Banners  104 

IX  Questions  about  Armor:  Its  Weight 

and  Size  108 

X  Japanese  Arms  and  Armor  .     .  .113 

A  Armor  117 

B  Swords  127 

C  Pole-Arms  132 

D  Bows  and  Arrows  1 34 

E  Guns,  Pistols,  and  Cannon  .  .135 
F  Horse  Armor  1 36 

XI  Arms  and  Armor  of  the  East:  Arab 

(Saracenic),  Turkish,  Persian,  In- 
dian, Chinese  138 

List  of  Personages  and  Families  whose  arms, 
personal  or  state,  are  represented  in  the  col- 
lection  147 

Index  of  Names  and  Collections    .    .    .  161 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

PLATE  PAGE 

Plan  of  Galleries  of  Armor  .    .  v 

I  Egyptian  Predynastic  Flint  Sword. 

Babylonian  Sword,  xiv  Century 
B.C  4 

II  Bronze  Armor,  Italic,  vii  (?)  Cen- 

tury B.C  6 

III  Etruscan  Chariot,  vi  Century  B.C.  lo 

IV  Greek  Warriors.    From  Andocides 

Vase,  End  of  vi  Century  B.C.  .    .  12 

V  Roman  and  Dacian  Soldiers.  From 

Trajan's  Column,  11  Century  A.D.  .  14 

VI  Prankish  Soldier,  vi  Century  A.D. 

After  Gimbel  16 

vii         Prankish  Soldier,  ix  Century.  After 

Gimbel  18 

VIII  Norman  and  Saxon  Armor,  Late  xi 

Century.  After  Bay eux  "Tapestry "  20 

IX  Banded  Mail  WITH  Shoulder  Shield, 

1274.    After  Gay  22 

ix 


X  LIST    OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

PLATE  PAGE 

X  Complete  Chain-Mail,  Late  xiii  Cen- 

tury (Brass  of  Sir  John  d'Auber- 
noun).    After  Hewitt      ....  24 

XI  Hunting  (or  War)  Horns,  xi,  xii, 

and  XV  Centuries.     de  Dino  and 
Morgan  Collections  26 

XII  "Ivory"  Saddles,  xiv,  xv,  and  xvii 

Centuries,    de  Dino  Collection  .     .  28 

XIII  Chess  Figure,  about  1350.  Marble 

Relief,  about  1300  30 

XIV  Transitional  Armor  of  Guenther 

VON   ScHWARZBURG,    1 350.  After 
Hewitt  32 

XV  Armor  Transitional  from  Chain  to 

Plate,  1360.    After  Hewitt,  from 
MS.  "Meliadus"  34 

XVI  Early  Plate  -  Armor,  1401.  After 

brass  of  Sir  Nicholas  Dagworth  .     .  36 

XVII  Plate-Armor,  1421.    After  an  Effigy 

of  a  Knight  of  the  Family  of  Haber- 
korn  38 

XVIII  Gothic  Armor,  about  1435.  After  the 

brass  of  Roger  Elmbrygge    ...  40 

XIX  Armor  of  1450.    From  one  of  the 

Caesar  Tapestries  (Bern).  After  Ju- 
binal  42 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

FACING 

PLATE  PAGE 

XX  Gothic  Armor,  Italian,  about  1460. 

de  Dino  Collection  44 

XXI  Gothic  Armor,  about  1470.  Stuy- 

vesant  Collection  46 

XXII  Gothic  Armor,  about  1490.   de  Dino 

Collection  48 

XXIII  Maximilian    Armor    a  Tonnelet, 

about  1 520.    de  Dino  Collection    .  50 

XXIV  Maximilian  Armor,  about  15 15.  de 

Dino  Collection  52 

XXV  Engraved  and  Gilded  Armor  OF  Gal- 

lOT  DE  Genouilhac,  dated  1527  .  54 

XXVI  Brigandines,  End  of  xv  and  Middle  of 

XVI  Century.   Riggs  Collection.  Af- 
ter Gay  56 

XXVII  Half-Armor  Attributed  to  Charles 

DE  Bourbon,  1520.  Half-Armor  of 
THE  Duke  of  Alva,  1565.  Riggs 

Collection  58 

xxviii    Half-Armor  of  the  Duke  of  Sessa, 

about  1 560.    de  Dino  Collection    .  60 

XXIX  Half-Armor  Made  by  Pompeo  della 

Chiesa,  about  1575.    de  Dino  Col- 
lection  62 

XXX  Parade  Armor,  about  1590.  Stuy- 

vesant  Collection  64 

XXXI  Casque  by  the  Milanese  Armorer, 

Philip  de  Negroli,  dated  1543.    J.  P. 
Morgan  Collection  66 


Xii  LIST    OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

PLATE  PACE 

XXXII  Harness,  Blackened  and  Engraved, 

about  1600.    de  Dino  Collection    .  68 

XXXIII  BURGANETS    AND    CLOSED  HeLMETS, 

XVI  and  early  xvii  Century.  Riggs 
Collection  70 

XXXIV  BuRGANET  OF  Henry  II,  about  1550. 

de  Dino  Collection  72 

XXXV  BURGANETS,    MORIONS,    AND  CaBAS- 

SETS,  XVI  Century.    Riggs  Collec- 
tion  74 

XXXVI  Breastplates,   xvi   and   xvii  Cen- 

turies.   Riggs  Collection      ...  76 

XXXVII  Pieces  of  Armor,  xvi  Century.  Main- 

ly Riggs  Collection  78 

xxxviii  Gauntlets,  xv  and  xvi  Centuries. 

Clarence   H.   Mackay,   Riggs,  and 

de  Dino  Collections  80 

xxxix  Gauntlets,  xvi  and  early  xvii  Cen- 

turies  82 

XL        Gauntlets  of  the  Due  de  Guise  (?) 

j  AND  OF  Philip  III  84 

XLi        RoNDACHES,  XVI  and  xvii  Centuries. 

Riggs  and  de  Dino  Collections   .     .  86 

XLii       Swords,  xvi  Century,    de  Dino  Col- 
lection  88 

XLiii      CiNQUEDEA,  Early  xvi  Century.  Riggs 

Collection  .     .   90 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  XIU 

FACING 

PLATE  PAGE 

XLiv       Swords,  xv-xvii  Centuries.  Riggs 

and  de  Dino  Collections  ....  92 

XLV       Sword  Pommels,  xv  and  early  xvi 

Century.    Riggs  Collection  ...  94 

XLVi       Pole-Arms,  xvi  and  xvii  Centuries. 

Riggs  Collection  '96 

XLVii  War  Hammers  and  Maces,  xv  and 
XVI  Centuries.  Riggs  and  de  Dino 
Collections  98 

XLViii     Daggers,  xiv,  xv,  and  xvi  Centuries. 

de  Dino  Collection    .     .     .     ,  .100 

XLix  Daggers,  xvi  Century,  de  Dino  Col- 
lection  102 

L    ^       Guns,  xvi  and  xvii  Centuries.  Riggs 

and  de  Dino  Collections  .     .     .  .104 

LI  Pistols,    xvi    and    xvii  Centuries. 

Mainly  Riggs  Collection      .     .  .106 

Lii  Powder  Horns,  xvi  and  xvii  Cen- 
turies.   Riggs  Collection      .     .  .108 

Liii        Horse  Armor,  about   1560.  Riggs 

Collection  1 10 

Liv        Stirrups,  xvi  and  xvii  Centuries. 

Riggs  Collection  112 

LV         Japanese  Armor,  vii  Century  (or 

earlier)       ........  120 


XIV  LIST    OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING 

PLATE  PAGE 

LVi        Japanese  Armor,  x  or  xi  Century. 

From  Temple  Sugata-no-Miya  .  .122 

Lvn       Japanese  Armor,  about  1200.  Dean 

Collection  124 

LViii  Japanese  Armor,  Ashikaga  Period, 
XIV  Century.  From  Kosuga  Tem- 
ple, Nara  126 

Lix  Armor  of  the  Early  Tokugawa 
Period,  about  1630.  From  Effigy 
of  Date  Masamune  (Sendai)      .  .128 

LX         Crests  of  Distinguished  Japanese 

Families  (Diagram  of  Ceiling)  .  .136 

Lxi  Hispano-Arab  Sword,  End  of  xv  Cen- 
tury. Turkish  Casques,  xv  and 
XVI  Centuries,   de  Dino  Collection  .  1 38 

lxii  Gauntlet  Sword -Hilt,  South  In- 
dian, XVII  Century.  George  C. 
Stone  Collection  140 

Lxiii  Katah  Handles,  South  Indian,  xvii 
Century.  George  C.  Stone  Collec- 
tion  142 

Lxiv      South  Indian  Daggers,  xvii  Century. 

George  C.  Stone  Collection  .     .  .144 


HANDBOOK 
OF 

THE  COLLECTION 


I 


INTRODUCTION 


H  E  casual  visitor  to  a  modern  museum  is  apt  to 


know  little  of  ancient  Arms  and  Armor,  and 


A  he  may  not  realize  that  among  connoisseurs 
these  objects  rank  high  in  the  scale  of  objets  d'ari 
— with  ceramics,  enamels,  bronzes,  even  paintings. 
For  one  reason,  unless  he  happens  to  know  the  famous 
collections  in  a  few  European  capitals,  he  has  prob- 
ably seen  few  specimens  of  armor  of  good  quality. 
And  he  does  not  take  into  account  that  the  art  of  the 
armorer,  like  the  art  of  the  painter  or  sculptor,  can 
not  be  well  appreciated  from  poor  examples.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  every-day  visitor  to  a  museum  usu- 
ally associates  arms  and  armor  with  the  elaborately 
developed  panoplies  of  the  sixteenth  century — of 
the  time  of  the  Italian  wars  and  of  the  Field  of  the 
Cloth  of  Gold — and  he  pictures  armor  as  a  ceremonial 
equipment,  etched,  gilded,  and  embossed,  worn  as 
often  in  the  court  as  in  the  camp,  when  swords  were 
richly  wrought,  incrusted  with  silver  and  gold,  and 
when  halberds,  which  so  often  form  an  attractive 
portion  of  the  sky-line  in  pictures  of  those  days, 


2  INTRODUCTION 

were  fretted,  etched,  and  gilded,  their  long  shafts 
sheathed  in  velvet,  and  rich  with  silk  tassels  and 
gilded  studs.  These  splendid  equipments,  it  is  true, 
represent  an  important  side  of  the  armorer's  art. 
But  it  is  equally  true,  from  an  artistic  standpoint, 
that  some  of  the  most  interesting  objects  were  the 
earlier  and  simpler  types  which  were  beautiful  rather 
in  their  lines  and  surfaces  than  in  their  mere  enrich- 
ment. 

It  is,  then,  from  an  examination  of  good  specimens 
of  armor  and  arms  of  various  periods  that  one  real- 
izes that  they  well  deserve  their  place  in  a  museum 
of  art.  And  in  this  conclusion  we  need  consider 
neither  their  historical  value,  as  a  means  of  picturing 
more  accurately  scenes  and  personages  of  known 
periods,  nor  their  sentimental  interest — which  they 
possess  to  a  degree  rarely  found  in  other  objects  of 
art — nor  their  supposed  mystical  significance.  In 
the  last  regard,  we  recall  the  myths  of  god-like 
armorers  and  enchanted  arms,  which  belonged  to  all 
early  times  and  to  all  peoples. 

Unfortunately  for  the  general  public,  representa- 
tive collections  of  these  objects  were  not  to  be  seen, 
until  late  years  at  least,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
And  even  abroad  few  museums  exhibited  armor  ade- 
quately. In  fact,  in  the  case  of  European  armor, 
about  ninety  per  cent  of  the  best  examples  extant 
are  restricted  to  but  seven  national  European  collec- 
tions, i.  e.,  Vienna,  Madrid,  Paris,  Dresden,  Turin, 
London,  and  Petrograd — collections  which,  by  the 
way,  are  not  of  public  or  popular  origin,  for  they  de- 


INTRODUCTION  3 

scend  in  large  part  from  the  treasures  of  princely 
houses. 

In  the  United  States  few  European  arms  have 
been  exhibited.  Aside  from  those  shown  at  various 
times  in  the  present  Museum,  only  two  representa- 
tive collections  have  been  shown:  when  in  1893  the 
Zschille  armor  was  exhibited  at  the  World's  Fair 
in  Chicago,  and  in  19 16  when  the  gallery  of  the 
Cleveland  Museum  was  opened  with  the  important 
John  L.  Severance  Benefaction. 

But  what  has  become  of  the  rest  of  the  early  armor 
and  splendid  arms?  Surely  in  their  day  these  objects 
were  abundant  and  one  may  well  query  why  many  of 
them  have  not  come  down  to  our  present  time.  The 
reason  for  this  is  complex.  For  one  thing,  during  the 
past  two  centuries,  when  armor  disappeared  from 
use,  there  has  been  little  interest  in  the  armorer's  art. 
Then,  too,  modern  warfare,  with  its  constant  im- 
provement in  fire-arms,  discouraged  and  actually  de- 
stroyed it.  Armor  became  burdensome  and  useless, 
possibly  dangerous;  and  when  it  finally  lost  its  dig- 
nity, it  was  soon  forgotten.  War,  too,  with  its  al- 
most yearly  changes  in  equipments  during  the  last 
centuries,  caused  every  struggling  nation  to  prepare 
its  arms  as  cheaply  as  possible;  and  under  this  con- 
dition even  the  best  work  was  of  little  artistic  value. 
Hence,  the  view  became  widespread  that  the  work 
of  the  armorer  represented  a  low  branch  of  an  art- 
ist's profession.  Even  the  government  of  the  United 
States  took  this  point  of  view,  and  a  few  years  ago, 
a  casque  executed  for  Francis  I  by  a  Negroli  and 


4  I  NTRODUCTION 

designed  by  Cellini  would  have  been  held  on  our  fron- 
tiers and  assessed  for  duty  as  ''manufactured  metal 
ware"!  It  came  about,  accordingly,  in  a  period  of 
disregard  for  the  work  of  the  ancient  armorer  that 
the  objects  of  his  art  were  destroyed,  and  in  many 
ways.  One  hears  of  precious  harnesses  falling  into 
the  hands  of  artisans.  Thus  in  Munich  the  gate  of 
the  botanical  garden  was  made  early  in  the  last  cen- 
tury of  forged  iron  obtained  from  a  collection  of 
ancient  armor  (said  to  be  largely  Gothic!)  from  the 
garrets  of  the  royal  palace  of  Munich.  Casques  and 
bucklers  enriched  with  gold  were  broken  up  to  re- 
cover a  trifling  amount  of  precious  metal.  One  of 
the  best  head-pieces  in  our  collection  was  purchased 
from  a  stable  boy;  another  was  found  in  a  Rhenish 
grocery  shop  in  use  as  a  meal-measure.  About  the 
time  of  the  French  Revolution,  a  number  of  ancient 
armories  were  dispersed  and  priceless  armor  was  sold 
by  weight — to  be  converted  into  horseshoes  or  pike- 
heads.  In  this  connection,  one  should  also  take  into 
account  the  fact  that  armor  is  not  easily  kept  in 
order,  and,  if  neglected,  it  rusts  and  speedily  loses 
much  of  its  attractiveness.  Furthermore,  it  was  at 
all  times  a  costly  matter  to  keep  an  armory  in  re- 
pair; and  there  is  probably  no  kind  of  collection 
which  requires  greater  attention,  more  skilful  care, 
or  larger  outlays.  When  this  attention  was  not 
given,  the  objects  showed  neglect  so  obviously  that 
they  were  apt  to  find  their  way  out  of  sight.  Thus 
it  happened  in  the  course  of  centuries  that  important 
armor  was  removed  from  a  position  of  prominence  in 


PLATE  I 

EGYPTIAN  PREDYNASTIC  FLINT  SWORD 
BABYLONIAN   SWORD,  XIV  CENTURY  B.  ( 

SEE   PAGES  20,  24 


INTRODUCTION  5 

castle  or  manor,  and  stored  away  in  a  damp  lumber- 
room,  where,  as  in  the  instance  of  the  admirable  har- 
ness of  Sir  James  Scudamore  now  shown  in  our  col- 
lection, it  suffered  great  neglect.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
under  such  conditions,  when  one  looks  into  an  ancient 
chest  at  the  dismembered  and  disintegrating  bits  of 
armor,  it  takes  not  a  little  imagination  to  picture  the 
former  magnificence  of  the  entire  suit;  its  beauty 
of  outline,  its  delicately  engraved  ornaments,  its 
crisply  fluted  and  russeted  surface,  its  mountings  in 
silk  velvet  and  gold  galloon,  its  close-fitting  sym- 
metry, which  made  it  appear  molded  to  the  living 
body  of  its  wearer. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  earlier  times,  armor  and 
arms  were  among  the  most  prized  possessions  of  no- 
ble and  commoner.  They  were  objects,  indeed,  no 
less  useful  than  beautiful.  It  was  not  unnatural, 
therefore,  that  the  man  who  made  them  was  looked 
upon  everywhere  as  an  artist  who  belonged  to  an  an- 
cient and  honorable  guild.  He  had  access  at  all 
times  to  courts  and  camps  and  his  work  was  munifi- 
cently rewarded.  A  great  swordsmith,  Serafino  di 
Brescia,  was  accepted  by  such  an  art  lover  as  Francis  I 
as  equal  in  rank  with  Titian.  The  Negroli  were  en- 
nobled, fortune  and  fame  came  to  the  Colman  fam- 
ily through  the  Austrian  emperors,  and  the  imperial 
Maximilian  is  pictured  in  his  workshop  with  his 
hand  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  master-armorer  Seu- 
senhofer.  In  those  days,  no  painter  was  too  distin- 
guished to  act  as  a  designer  for  military  panoplies. 
Raphael  and  Michelangelo  made  studies  for  the 


6  INTRODUCTION 

equipments  of  the  papal  court;  Diirer  prepared  de- 
signs for  the  armor  and  arms  of  Maximilian;  Leo- 
nardo was  singularly  fertile  in  similar  work;  Cellini 
not  only  designed  but  executed  shields  and  hilts  of 
rapiers  and  poignards.  Among  the  artists  who  are 
known  to  have  taken  a  part  in  the  armorer's  "trade" 
were  Titian,  Gian  Bologna,  Giulio  Romano,  Holbein, 
Peter  Vischer,  and  Donatello. 

But  the  real  armorer  was  evidently  he  who  both 
designed  his  objects  and  executed  them  as  well. 
And  in  this  he  followed  an  art  whose  technical  diffi- 
culties were  extreme.  His  work  was  to  stand  the 
test  of  service,  therefore  it  was  modeled  in  steel;  and 
of  this  refractory  material  he  formed  objects  of  the 
hardest  texture,  whose  thickness  was  great  only  at 
the  points  where  actually  needed,  whose  total  weight 
was  reduced  to  a  minimum — yet  with  all  this  they 
should  be  beautiful.  Nor  did  this  mean  that  armor 
should  attract  chiefly  from  its  decoration  or  enrich- 
ment. The  artist's  greatest  work,  whether  casque, 
gauntlet,  or  sword-hilt,  was  like  a  Greek  vase,  beau- 
tiful in  the  effect  of  its  shadows,  in  its  movement 
and  contour.  During  the  greatest  period  of  the 
European  armorers,  say  between  1450  and  1530, 
even  a  detached  piece — a  shoulder,  backplate,  gaunt- 
let, or  greave — had  in  some  degree  the  merit  of  a 
fragment  of  classical  sculpture.  Not  merely  are  its 
lines  expressed  beautifully,  but  one  feels  that  it 
has  within  it  something  living.  What  this  implies 
from  the  technical  standpoint  is  realized  more  clearly 
when  one  watches  a  workman  copying  an  ancient 


PLATE  II 
BRONZE  ARMOR,  ITALIC 
VII   (?)  CENTURY  B.C. 

SEE  PAGE  26 


INTRODUCTION  7 

piece  and  sees  how  fully  he  is  taxing  both  his  hand 
and  his  judgment.  Thus  when  modeling  an  object 
he  may  at  one  point  heat  the  metal  to  excess,  and 
thereby  spoil  his  piece;  his  few  extra  hammer  strokes 
may  weaken  the  work  at  a  critical  point;  or  he  can- 
not develop  a  desired  contour  if  at  the  beginning  the 
"pushing''  or  spreading  of  the  metal  be  not  begun 
at  a  definite  distance  from  the  margin  of  the  plate. 

In  a  word,  in  former  centuries  the  work  of  the 
armorer  was  a  living  art  and  its  technical  interest 
was  well  understood  even  by  laymen.  Today,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  an  art  well  nigh  extinct,  and  there 
are  not  many,  even  among  amateurs,  who  appreciate 
how  subtle  and  difficult  it  was.  Its  processes  were 
varied  and  a  knowledge  of  them  was  often  guarded 
jealously,  as  the  heritage  of  artist  families  or  of  an- 
cient guilds.  Its  implements  were  things  apart,  with 
scores  of  curiously  shaped  hammers  and  anvils,  and 
with  a  formidable  battery  of  eccentric  pincers,  files, 
saws,  and  vises — objects  which  their  owners  some- 
times elaborately  ornamented,  incised,  and  sculp- 
tured. In  fact,  the  ancient  anvil,^  the  pride  of  some 
sixteenth-century  armorer,  which  is  exhibited  in  the 
present  gallery  (H  9,  near  Case  48),  will  to  some 
visitors  be  of  greater  interest  than  the  armor  itself. 

There  are  in  fact  few  copyists  today  who  would 
attempt  a  real  armorer's  task.  And  modern  work 
has  ever  in  it  a  hardness  of  line.  Persuade  an  artist 
to  copy,  for  example,  the  comb  of  a  morion.  This 

iThis,  together  with  a  sculptured  vise,  was  lately  borrowed  by  the 
Museum  from  the  collection  of  Ambrose  Monell  of  Tuxedo. 


8  INTRODUCTION 

is  the  crest  or  ridge  encircling  the  top  of  a  somewhat 
hat-shaped  head-piece,  which  the  old  armorer  would 
develop  out  of  a  simple  piece  of  metal  to  a  height  of 
six  inches,  and  at  the  same  time  leave  the  maximum 
strength  at  the  top  of  the  crest  where  it  was  needed. 
If  a  modern  copyist  attempted  such  a  task,  his  result 
would  be  lacking  in  finished  symmetry  or  in  the  grad- 
uation in  the  thickness  of  the  metal  in  the  exposed 
parts.  The  only  artist  who  might  become  a  danger- 
ous faussaire  is  the  one  who  would  be  willing  to  copy 
the  same  object  scores  of  times. 


II 


THE  PRESENT  COLLECTION  AND  ITS 
ARRANGEMENT 


HE  earliest  arms  and  armor  in  the  Museum 


appear  in  the  Classical  Department  (J  2-7, 


A  D  8),  in  several  of  the  Egyptian  rooms  (D 
3,  E  I,  H  2),  and  in  the  room  devoted  to  Cretan  repro- 
ductions (D  12).  All  later  specimens,  which  together 
represent  over  nine-tenths  of  the  collection,  have  now 
been  brought  together  from  all  sources  and  installed 
in  four  galleries  in  Addition  H.  European  speci- 
mens appear  in  the  main  gallery  (H  9),  and  in  the 
large  north  room  (H  8);  Japanese  armor  is  displayed 
in  a  room  (H  6)  east  of  the  main  gallery,  and  the  re- 
maining Oriental  arms  in  a  room  adjacent  to  this 
(H  5)/  In  these  galleries  an  arrangement  has  been 
followed  which  aims  to  furnish  an  outline  of  the  ar- 
morer's art  in  various  countries  and  more  or  less  in  a 
chronological  sequence.  For  this  reason,  the  visitor 
is  recommended  to  consult  the  diagram  of  the  gal- 

1  The  corner  gallery  (H  7)  is  not  as  yet  completely  arranged.  It 
will  contain  a  part  of  the  William  H.  Riggs  Armor  and  Art  Donation, 
including  contemporary  portraits  of  knights  in  armor,  Renaissance  furni- 
ture, stained  glass,  early  tournament  books,  and  similar  documents  re- 
lating to  arms. 


9 


THECOLLECTION  II 

After  completing  his  review  of  European  Armor 
and  Arms  the  visitor  enters  the  Japanese  Hall.  At 
his  left  are  arms  of  the  stone,  bronze,  and  early  iron 
ages.  Immediately  in  front  are  partial  suits  of  ar- 
mor, dating  from  1200  to  1500  A.  D.,  which  are  of  no 
little  interest  to  the  student,  for  they  belong  to  the 
period  which  the  Japanese  look  upon  as  the  "golden 
age"  of  their  national  art.  These  objects  are  appar- 
ently the  only  ones  of  their  kind  that  have  found 
their  way  out  of  Japan.  In  the  middle  of  the  room 
are  series  of  harnesses  of  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth, 
but  mainly  eighteenth  century,  together  with  asso- 
ciated arms.  Among  them  are  numerous  examples 
of  the  workmanship  of  the  Miochin  family  of  armor- 
ers. Here,  too,  is  the  horse-equipment  of  a  prince  of 
Inaba.  On  either  side  of  this  are  corselets,  helmets, 
and  detached  pieces  of  armor.  On  the  walls  are  pole- 
arms,  surcoats,  bows,  quivers,  and  banners,  including 
(in  a  frame)  the  war  banner  of  Prince  Date  Masa- 
mune  of  Sendai  (died  1636).  At  the  south  end  of 
this  gallery  are  cases  of  swords  and  sword-guards, 
fire-arms,  and  helmets.  The  latest  objects  in  the 
Japanese  military  equipment  here  shown  date  to 
about  the  time  of  the  overthrow  of  the  Shogunate  in 
1868. 

The  ceiling  of  this  hall  is  worthy  of  careful  exami- 
nation. It  is  decorated  with  the  mon  (crests)  of  the 
principal  families  of  old  Japan.  Their  names  are 
given  in  a  diagram  as  Plate  LX. 

Passing  into  the  next  room  to  the  south  (H  5)  the 
visitor  may  examine  other  Oriental  arms.    Here  are 


12 


THE  COLLECTION 


Turkish,  Persian,  and  Indian  head-pieces,  which  date 
from  the  fifteenth  to  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
are  of  excellent  workmanship/  Of  these  the  earlier 
ones  are  of  unusual  diameter  to  enable  them  to  be 
worn  over  large  turbans.  In  a  number  of  instances 
they  are  elaborately  embossed  and  decorated  with 
incised  patterns  and  overlays  of  precious  metals. 
Good  examples  of  Oriental  mail  may  also  be  ex- 
amined. Among  the  swords  here  shown  are  several 
whose  ancient  ''Damascus''  blades  are  composed  of 
many  fme  layers  of  steel.  One  sword  is  of  particular 
interest.  Its  blade  is  European,  but  its  hilt  was  made 
by  a  Moorish  artist  and  elaborately  decorated  with 
enamels;  it  belonged  for  centuries  in  the  family  of 
the  Marquis  de  las  dos  Aquas  of  Valencia,  and,  with 
the  leather  despatch  (or  Koran)  case  accompanying  it, 
was  treasured  as  a  relic  of  the  ''unlucky"  Boabdil, 
the  last  king  of  Granada.  (Plate  LX I .)  Whether  this 
tradition  be  true  or  not,  this  Hispano-Arab  sword  is 
a  great  rarity — only  nine  specimens  of  its  type  are 
described.  In  neighboring  cases  and  panoplies  are 
shields,  breastplates,  and  gauntlets  of  Persian  and 
North  Indian  origin.  They  are  usually  made  of 
Damascus  steel  and  elaborately  decorated.  There 
are  also  Malayan  krisses,  Persian  daggers  and  swords, 
and  enriched  Oriental  guns,  many  of  these  lent  by 
George  C.  Stone.    Especially  noteworthy  is  Mr. 

1  A  few  Oriental  arms  are  shown  in  the  Moore  Gallery  (E  12).  These 
include  an  excellent  Persian  casque  and  corselet,  and  a  Cingalese  gun,  the 
last  a  very  rare  object.  Mr.  George  C.  Stone  tells  the  writer  that  he  knows 
but  three  other  examples,  one  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum  and 
two  in  Russian  collections. 


PLATE  IV 

GREEK  WARRIORS.     FROM  ANDOCIDES  VASE 
END  OF  VI  CENTURY  B.C. 

SEE   PAGE  28 


TH  E    COLLECTION  I3 

Stone's  series  of  fist-daggers  (katdh)  and  a  gauntlet 
sword  from  the  Walhouse  Collection  and  the  state 
armory  of  the  Maharaja  Sivaji,  the  last  king  of 
Tanjore. 

In  following  the  directions  given  in  the  preceding 
paragraphs,  the  visitor  will  find  before  him  all  arms 
and  armor  now  on  exhibition.  Should  he  wish  ad- 
ditional data  for  the  study  of  armor,  he  is  recom- 
mended to  visit  the  halls  where  the  plaster  casts  are 
shown  (A  30,  31,  32,  33,  38).  Here  he  will  find  re- 
productions of  well-known  monumental  effigies  and 
portrait  statues  dating  from  the  fifteenth  and  six- 
teenth centuries.  Among  these  we  may  note  Gat- 
tamelata,  1453;  Otho  of  Henneberg,  1487;  Colleoni, 
1493;  Guidarello  GuidarelH,  1501;  Hermann  VIII  of 
Henneberg,  1508;  several  of  Peter  Vischer's  kingly 
statues  in  the  Innsbruck  church,  15 13;  Gaston  de 
Foix,  15 15;  Francis  I,  about  1520;  Engelbert  of  Nas- 
sau, about  1525;  Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  1530; 
Charles  IX,  1571.  There  are  also  a  few  important 
original  statues  in  stone  and  wood  (Addition  F) 
which  will  repay  examination.  And  in  the  Morgan 
Collection  (H  11-15,  19)  there  are  numbers  of  ad- 
mirable contemporary  representations  in  armor,  in 
ivory,  wood,  stone,  enamels,  and  paintings.  We  may 
mention  finally  that  galvanoplastic  reproductions  of 
a  number  of  well-known  arms  and  embossed  pieces 
of  armor  may  be  examined  in  the  basement  hall  of 
Addition  H,  including  notable  specimens  from  the 
Petrograd  Collection. 


TH  E  COLLECTION 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  MUSEUM  COLLECTION 
OF  ARMOR 

Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant,  Vice-President  (1904-5) 
and  Trustee  from  1870  to  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1909,  was  greatly  interested  in  the  study  of  armor, 
and  during  his  long  association  with  the  Museum,  he 
spared  no  effort  to  show  to  the  art-loving  people  of 
New  York  good  examples  of  the  work  of  the  artist- 
armorers.  His  own  extensive  collection  was  several 
times  placed  at  the  service  of  the  Museum,  and  his 
gifts  were  important.  His  purchases  at  the  Spitzer 
sale  (1895),  where  he  secured  some  of  the  capital 
pieces,  were  at  once  sent  to  the  Museum,  where  they 
have  ever  since  been  exhibited.^  He  it  was  who, 
supported  by  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  negotiated  the 
purchase  in  1904,  of  the  collection  of  the  Duke  de 
Dino:  this  had  been  formed  by  a  wealthy  French 
amateur  under  the  advice  of  the  well-known  expert, 
Baron  de  Cosson. 

Previous  to  this,  Mr.  Stuyvesant  expertised  and 
recommended  for  acceptance  by  the  Museum  the 
small  but  valuable  collection  which  forms  the  nu- 
cleus of  the  present  exhibition.  This  included  arms 
and  detached  pieces  of  armor,  together  with  several 
suits  and  half-suits  which  had  been  secured  by  John 
S.  Ellis,  of  Westchester,  between  1865  and  1890. 
They  were  presented  to  the  Museum  in  1896  in  Mr. 
Ellis's  memory  by  his  son,  Augustus  Van  Home 
Ellis.   Until  19 10,  this  collection  remained  in  a  sepa- 

1  Since  1909  generously  lent  by  Madame  Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant, 


PLATE  V 
ROMAN  AND  DACIAN  SOLDIERS 

FROM  Trajan's  column,  ii  century  a.d. 

SEE   PAGE  2() 


THECOLLECTION  I5 

rate  gallery  in  Addition  C  (31).  (See  catalogue  of 
Arms  and  Armor,  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art, 
1905.)  It  was  later  transferred  to  Gallery  6  in  Ad- 
dition D,  near  the  de  Dino  Collection,  so  that  all  the 
Museum's  armor  and  arms  could  be  examined  to- 
gether conveniently. 

Various  additions  have  come  to  the  galleries  since 
the  installation  of  the  de  Dino  objects.  Purchases 
were  made;  some  interesting  arms  from  the  collection 
of  William  Cruger  Pell  were  presented  (1906)  by  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Ridgely  Hunt;  a  series  of  Persian  and 
Turkish  arms  was  given  by  William  B.  Osgood  Field; 
and  in  the  Moore  Collection  were  similar  and  admi- 
rable specimens.  In  1903,  a  loan  collection  of  Japan- 
ese armor  was  exhibited  which,  excepting  two  speci- 
mens, has  since  remained  on  exhibition,  and  with 
this  were  exhibited  the  Japanese  swords  of  Bray  ton 
Ives  which  were  secured  in  1891.  Accessions  to  the 
Japanese  armor  collection  came  in  19 10  in  the  gift  of 
the  dozen  or  more  harnesses,  with  accessories,  of  ex- 
cellent workmanship,  which  Dr.  George  M.  Lefferts 
gathered  in  Japan  about  1893;  ^Iso  in  the  objects 
secured  by  the  curator  in  Japan  in  1905,  which  he 
lately  donated.  These  included  many  early  pieces, 
notably  those  from  the  well-known  Kawasaki  Col- 
lection of  Tokyo.  A  somewhat  later  accession  in  this 
field  is  the  series  of  sword-guards  presented  by  Mrs. 
Adrian  H.  Joline  (1914). 

A  few  arms  of  the  Bronze  Age  and  of  classical  an- 
tiquity had  been  represented  in  the  Cypriote  Collec- 
tion of  General  di  Cesnola — subsequent  purchases 


l6  TH  E  COLLECTION 

(1903,  1907,  1909)  yielded  a  dozen  or  more  important 
objects  in  this  early  field,  including  casques,  plas- 
trons, and  shield  bosses.  Of  supreme  interest  is  the 
Etruscan  chariot  acquired  in  1903. 

Of  armor  of  the  Renaissance,  purchases  have  been 
made  in  recent  years:  in  the  sales  of  Whawell-Thill 
(Munich,  1908),  Keucheleff  (Paris,  19 12),  Laking 
andZouche  (London,  1920).  In  19 19  the  equestrian 
panoply  of  Galiot  de  Genouilhac  (1527)  was  acquired, 
and  in  1920  two  enriched  Italian  suits  of  horse  armor 
( 1 560) .  I  n  1 9 1 2  two  suits  were  secured  which  had  been 
made  for  Sir  James  Scudamore  about  1 585  at  Green- 
wich, probably  by  the  master-armorer,  Jacobe. 

To  the  Metropolitan  Museum  the  year  191 3  was 
in  many  directions  the  most  important  in  its  history. 
To  its  arms  and  armor  it  now  added  the  William 
Henry  Riggs  Donation.  This  included,  in  fact,  the 
entire  collection  of  this  well-known  amateur,  not 
only  arms,  but  contemporary  portraits  of  armored 
knights,  a  library  upon  armor,  numerous  pieces  of 
Renaissance  furniture,  and  panels  of  stained  glass — 
a  benefaction  to  the  Museum  which  up  to  that  time 
was  second  only  in  importance  to  the  Rogers  Bequest. 

Mr.  Riggs  (see  Bulletin  of  The  Metropolitan  Mu- 
seum of  Art,  March,  19 14,  pp.  66-74)  was  born  in 
New  York,  but  from  the  early  fifties  had  made  his 
home  in  Paris,  where,  in  the  greatest  art  market  in 
the  world,  he  was  in  constant  touch  with  collectors 
and  antiquity  merchants.  For  over  sixty  years  he 
devoted  his  time  and  fortune  to  his  life-work.  This 


PLATE  VI 
PRANKISH   SOLDIER,  VI  CENTURY 
AFTER  GIMBEL 

SEE  PAGE  33 


THECOLLECTION  I7 

he  maintained  was  to  bring  together  ''for  the  benefit 
of  the  art-loving  people  of  his  country''  a  collection 
of  arms  and  armor  which  in  its  scope  and  quality 
would  rank  with  European  national  collections.  To 
this  end  he  labored  zealously.  He  traveled  extensively 
in  Germany,  Italy,  France,  and  Spain,  and  made  re- 
markable "fmds.''  He  knew  what  had  been  secured 
by  the  early  collectors,  and,  awaiting  his  opportunity, 
he  gathered  from  them,  sooner  or  later,  the  pieces  he 
coveted.  In  fact,  the  history  of  his  objects  is  the 
history  of  the  great  collectors,  such  as  Uboldo,  Mey- 
rick,  Fontaine,  Carrand  pere,  Spitzer,  Pourtales,  von 
Leyden,  Magniac,  de  Cosson,  Belleval.  Not  infre- 
quently his  treasures  could  be  traced  to  national  col- 
lections. Mr.  Riggs's  patient  watchfulness  brought 
him  many  historical  pieces,  and  he  did  not  allow 
them  to  slip  through  his  fmgers  when  once  captured. 
His  work  went  on  so  quietly  that  few,  even  amateurs, 
realized  the  value  of  the  collection  which  he  was 
bringing  together.  For  one  thing,  he  permitted  very 
few  people  to  see  it;  and  in  later  years,  when  acces- 
sions were  made  they  were  apt  merely  to  be  stored 
away  in  his  home  in  rue  Murillo,  which  came  finally 
to  be  so  filled  with  packing  cases  that  the  owner  him- 
self could  hardly  find  access  to  his  purchases.  Only 
when  the  first  international  exhibition  took  place  in 
Paris  did  the  art  world  realize  what  the  retiring 
American  amateur  had  accomplished — for  he  then 
permitted  some  of  his  most  important  pieces  to  be 
placed  on  public  view. 
About  1910,  Mr.  Riggs  decided  that  The  Metro- 


l8  THE  COLLECTION 

politan  Museum  of  Art  should  become  the  permanent 
home  of  his  collection;  he  had  consulted  Mr.  Morgan 
and  Vice-President  Stuyvesant  about  the  conditions 
in  the  Museum,  and  he  was  influenced  in  making  his 
choice  by  the  fact  that  Mr.  Morgan,  his  life-long 
friend,  was  the  President  of  the  Museum.  He  ac- 
cordingly placed  the  matter  in  Mr.  Morgan's  hands, 
and  at  the  latter's  suggestion  the  Trustees  arranged 
to  exhibit  the  Riggs  objects  in  the  three  present  gal- 
leries. They  were  completed  in  191 3,  and  were  ap- 
proved in  person  by  Mr.  Riggs,  who  then  visited  his 
native  city  for  the  first  time  in  forty-four  years. 
Thereafter,  within  a  few  months,  the  collection  was 
packed  and  shipped,  the  contents  of  a  hundred  odd 
cases  arriving  at  the  Museum  without  mishap.  As 
a  further  instance  of  Mr.  Riggs's  generous  attitude, 
we  need  only  mention  that  he  insisted  that  his  col- 
lection should  not  be  kept  distinct  from  objects  of 
similar  nature  in  the  Museum,  and  he  expressed  the 
wish  that  the  arrangement  of  the  arms  and  armor 
should  be  chronological,  since  by  this  means  the 
scientific  and  artistic  interest  of  the  collection  could 
best  be  demonstrated  to  the  general  visitor. 

SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  MUSEUM  COLLECTION  OF 
ARMS  AND  ARMOR 

The  European  objects  comprise  over  three  thou- 
sand numbers,  the  Japanese  sixteen  hundred,  other 
Oriental  objects  one  hundred.  There  are  in  round 
numbers  one  hundred  suits  and  half-suits  of  Euro- 
pean armor  and  fifty  of  Japanese;  seventy  specimens 


PLATE  VII 
PRANKISH   SOLDIER,   IX  CENTU 
AFTER  GIMBEL 

SEE   Pa\GE  33 


THECOLLECTION  I9 

of  European  mail ;  seventy  European  banners  and  forty 
Japanese;  six  hundred  European  pole-arms  and  sixty 
Japanese.  The  European  material  includes  further 
ninety  spurs,  one  hundred  and  ten  daggers,  forty 
guns,  one  hundred  pistols,  four  hundred  and  fifty 
swords,  eighty  shields,  two  hundred  helmets,  two 
hundred  and  ten  other  pieces  of  armor,  eighty  maces, 
one  hundred  and  seventy  horse  trappings,  embracing 
bridles,  bits,  and  stirrups. 


Ill 


EARLIEST  ARMS  AND  ARMOR 
O  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  represent  in 


the  present  collection  the  typical  arms  of  the 


1  Stone  Age.  From  various  specimens  shown, 
however,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  art  of  the  maker  of 
arms  had  already  made  important  strides  in  the  ear- 
liest times.  Stone  axes,  daggers,  knives,  and  arrow- 
points,  which  are  certainly  more  than  five  thousand 
years  old,  were  fashioned  with  no  little  skill.  Es- 
pecially to  be  noted  are  the  daggers  and  swords  shown 
in  the  Egyptian  room  (D  3),  which  date  from  the 
predynastic  period  (about  3500  B.  C).  At  this  time, 
a  degree  of  refinement  in  the  chipping  of  flint  had 
been  attained  which  marks  probably  the  highest 
point  in  the  development  of  the  art.    (Plate  I.) 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  arms  in  chipped  stone 
which  appeared  in  various  countries,  and  even  con- 
tinents, are  often  curiously  alike.  In  many  instances, 
objects  of  the  same  shape  and  treatment  can  hardly 
be  distinguished,  although  from  widely  separate  lo- 
calities and  of  very  different  ages.  It  is  probably  in 
certain  of  these  instances  that  the  degree  of  skill 
shown  in  a  definite  locality  was  developed  in  an  in- 


20 


EARLIEST   ARMS   AND   ARMOR  21 

dependent  way,  that  is,  as  an  instance  of  what  the 
biologist  would  cajl  "parallelism/'  Thus  the  skill 
developed  in  Japan  in  the  making  of  chipped  arrow- 
points  or  axe-heads  (celts)  was  in  all  likelihood  a 
purely  local  development,  i.  e.,  unrelated  to  that 
developed  in  Denmark  or  in  North  America.  Espe- 
cially in  arrow-points,  curious  and  highly  specialized 
forms  paralleled  one  another  in  widely  separated 
places.  And  this  is  the  more  remarkable  since  some 
of  these  forms  must  have  severely  tested  the  skill  of 
the  artist  who  made  them.  There  is  perhaps  no  way 
of  appreciating  more  clearly  the  difficulty  of  prepar- 
ing such  objects  than  by  attempting  to  copy  one  in 
a  similar  material,  aided  even  with  modern  means 
for  holding  the  object  and  for  chipping  it.  It  is  even 
doubtful  whether  some  of  the  highly  ornamented 
flint  or  obsidian  arrow-points,  made  by  a  ''savage'' 
more  than  four  thousand  years  ago,  could  be  copied 
accurately  at  the  present  day. 

Whether  armor  was  employed  earlier  than  the  age 
of  bronze  is  not  definitely  known.  By  analogy,  how- 
ever, it  is  more  than  probable  that  some  types  of  de- 
fensive arms  were  already  in  use.  We  may  safely 
conclude  that  shields  were  carried,  and  it  is  probable, 
judging  from  our  knowledge  of  the  cultural  condi- 
tions of  primitive  peoples,  that  forms  of  armor  had 
been  developed,  fashioned  either  of  fibres  or  of  hides. 


IV 


ARMS  AND  ARMOR  OF  THE  BRONZE  AGE 
AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY 

I  ^OR  about  six  thousand  years,  man  has  been  a 


worker  in  metals.  He  made  his  earliest  im- 


A  plements  and  arms  in  copper,  either  pure  or 
alloyed — this  at  least  is  the  commonly  accepted 
view.  Some  investigators,  however,  maintain  that 
he  worked  in  iron,  to  a  limited  degree,  at  about  the 
same  time.  And  this  view  has  in  general  no  tech- 
nical objection  to  it;  for  iron  is  readily  reduced  from 
a  rich  ore  in  malleable  lumps,  as  distinguished  from 
"cast"  iron  (which  has  been  in  use  only  about  three 
hundred  years).  This  view,  it  may  be  mentioned, 
is  based  upon  reported  discoveries  in  Egypt.  Here, 
the  date  of  the  appearance  of  bronze  can  be  estab- 
lished with  reasonable  accuracy,  e.  g.,  in  the  fmds  of 
Medum,  dating  about  3700  B.  C.  In  China,  it  may 
have  been  in  use  earlier  still,  if  we  are  willing  to  ac- 
cept definite  limits  in  far-eastern  chronology. 

There  is  certainly  strong  documentary  evidence  to 
show  that  bronze  was  in  general  use  earlier  than  iron. 
Thus  the  Greek  classics  refer  repeatedly  to  the  wide- 
spread use  of  bronze  and  to  the  late  appearance  of 


22 


PLATE  IX 

BANDED  MAIL  WITH  SHOULDER  SHIELD,  I274 
AFTER  GAY 

SEE  PAGE  38 


BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY  23 

iron.  We  know,  too,  that  objects  used  for  religious 
or  tribal  ceremonies,  whether  in  Rome,  Egypt,  Si- 
beria, or  Japan,  were  of  bronze,  rather  than  iron,  and 
that  such  objects,  on  many  grounds,  were  primitive. 
We  find,  further,  that  bronze  implements  and 
weapons  occur  in  older  burials,  and  that  iron  objects, 
when  they  begin  to  appear,  assume  shapes  which  had 
been  developed  in  bronze  only  in  later  times. 

We  cannot  assume,  however,  that  a  bronze  age  was 
universal  or  even  developed  at  the  same  time  in 
widely  separated  countries.  Each  continent  or  coun- 
try shows  wide  variations.  In  northern  Europe, 
where  this  age  has  been  carefully  studied,  bronze  ap- 
peared about  2000  B.  C,  and  its  use  for  arms  and 
armor  was  continued  well  into  the  time  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  centuries  after  iron  was  generally  employed. 
There  were  clearly  reasons  for  this  conservatism  in 
the  use  of  bronze:  copper,  pure  or  alloyed,  was 
more  easily  handled  than  iron,  it  was  splendidly 
majleable,  it  could  be  developed  with  less  labor  into 
plates  and  points,  it  did  not  rust,  and  it  was  suffi- 
ciently hard  for  its  purpose.  Few,  irtdeed,  realize  to- 
day how  hard  copper  may  be  made.  It  cannot  be 
"tempered"  like  steel,  but  if  hammered,  its  fibre  be- 
comes compact,  so  that  a  bit  of  soft  copper  may  be 
pounded  into  a  point  which  will  penetrate  almost  as 
well  as  iron.  I  recall  seeing  the  first  director  of  this 
Museum  demonstrate  the  hardness  of  a  Cypriote 
lance-blade  (which  was  nearly  pure  copper)  by  driv- 
ing it  into  the  oak  floor  of  the  gallery — the  point 
when  drawn  out  was  found  almost  uninjured.  But 


24     BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY 

the  hardening  of  copper  was  mainly  due  to  alloys. 
Thus  it  was  found  that  certain  ores  which  were  im- 
pure, e.  g.,  those  which  we  now  know  contain  arsenic 
or  antimony,  furnished  a  more  durable  ''copper/*  1 1 
was  also  early  discovered  that  a  slight  admixture  of 
tin  produced  arms  which  were  of  excellent  quality. 
This  result  was  probably  the  outcome  of  a  local  ex- 
periment in  using  a  copper  ore  which  happened  to  be 
rich  in  tin,  say  to  the  degree  of  two  per  cent.  From 
this  stage  an  experimental  evolution  proceeded  until 
a  bronze  was  produced  which  contained  tin  to  the 
amount  of  about  ten  per  cent. 

Some  of  the  earliest  European  arms  were  prepared 
with  no  little  skill,  and  from  various  points  of  view, 
technical  and  artistic.  Some  were  hammered  out  of 
the  metal  direct,  others  were  cast  and  then  finished 
with  hammer,  file,  and  chisel;  many  show  beautiful 
outlines  and  ornaments.  Lance-heads  with  subellip- 
tical  blades,  arrow-heads  with  broad  points,  leaf- 
shaped  sword-blades,  and  various  forms  of  axe-heads 
(celts  and  palstaves,  which  were  narrow  celts  fur- 
nished with  a  socket  into  which  the  handle  fitted) 
(J  2)  date  from  2,000  B.  C.  to  about  600  B.  C. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  of  the  earliest  objects 
in  the  Museum  is  the  Babylonian  sword  presented  in 
191 1  by  J.  Pierpont  Morgan  (H  5).  This  is  prob- 
ably the  oldest  arm  extant  which  is  inscribed  in  such 
a  way  that  it  can  be  given  a  date.  1 1  bears  cuneiform 
characters,  which  state  that  it  belonged  to  the  "Son 
of  Budil,  King  of  Assyria,"  who  flourished  in  the 
fourteenth  century  B.  C.   (Plate  I.) 


PLATE  X 

COMPLETE  CHAIN-MAIL,   LATE   XIII  CENTURY 

(brass  of  sir  JOHN  d'aubernoun) 

AFTER  HEWITT 

SEE   PAGE  37  . 


BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY  25 

Among  earliest  types  we  should  mention  the  arms 
of  the  so-called  Minoan  period,  dating  from  1600- 
1500  B.  C,  of  which  reproductions  are  exhibited  in 
the  Cretan  Room  (D  12).  The  daggers  and  swords 
are  straight  and  massive,  beautifully  mounted,  with 
ivory  grips  and  golden  guards  and  pommels.  They 
suggest  Egyptian  objects  of  earlier  age  shown  in  Ad- 
dition H,  2. 

The  oldest  armor  with  which  we  are  acquainted 
consists  of  jaierans,  or  jackets  covered  with  scales. 
Of  these,  however,  only  the  detached  bronze  scales 
are  preserved,  and  it  may  be  noted  these  are  curiously 
similar  in  shape  and  size,  in  various  and  widely  sep- 
arated countries.  Thus  the  same  type  of  bronze 
scales  (often  gilded)  is  found  in  Egypt  (Addition  H,  2), 
Spain,  India,  China,  Japan  (H  6,  Case  O.9  A),  and  the 
regions  of  the  Euphrates  and  Danube.  With  this 
body  armor  appear  bronze  helmets  which  exhibit  a 
modeling  of  no  mean  order;  some  are  fashioned  in  a 
single  piece,  others  are  made  up  of  plates  which  over- 
lap and  are  riveted  together.  In  some  instances 
these  defenses  continued  to  be  worn  when  iron  was 
already  in  general  use. 

The  first  European  iron  objects  date  between  850 
and  400  B.  C.  This  we  know  from  the  burials  in 
the  famous  cemetery  at  Hallstatt  in  the  region  of 
Innsbruck  in  Austria,  where  the  finds  have  been 
studied  with  great  care.  In  graves  in  this  locality 
iron  sword-blades,  spear-heads,  and  arrow-points  ap- 
pear side  by  side  with  bronze  armor  and  arms,  show- 
ing that  for  a  considerable  period  the  armorer  used 


26     BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY 

both  metals.  From  this  epoch  of  transition  date 
many  important  specimens  in  the  Bronze  Room  (Ad- 
dition J,  2).  (Plate  II.)  Foremost  among  these 
is  the  bronze  chariot  (biga)  acquired  by  the  Museum 
in  1903.  This  was  discovered  in  fragments  in  a  tomb 
near  Monteleone  di  Spoleto  in  Umbria.  Its  front 
and  sides  are  encased  in  beautifully  embossed  bronze, 
showing  on  the  front  panel  archaic  figures  in  whose 
hands  are  an  elaborately  embossed  shield  and  a 
casque  of  ''Corinthian"  pattern.    (Plate  III.) 

Other  bronze  objects  which  date  from  the  "Hall- 
statt  period''  include  a  bronze  corselet,  Greek,  dating 
probably  from  the  fourth  century  B.  C,  also  several 
bronze  casques  shown  in  the  same  case.  Of  these, 
the  rarest  is  undoubtedly  the  Italic  head-piece  with 
a  triangular  median  crest  ornamented  with  lines  of 
embossed  dots  and  circles.  (Plate  II.)  Casques  of 
this  type  are  known  in  about  fifteen  examples  and 
are  described  by  Freiherr  von  Lipperheide  in  his 
Corpus  Cassidum,  Berlin,  1902.  Associated  with  this 
head-piece  is  a  corselet  of  the  same  type,  dating  prob- 
ably from  700  B.  C.  (Plate  II.)  The  present  exam- 
ple is  figured  in  Forrer's  dictionary  of  archaeology 
and  has  been  several  times  exhibited,  notably  in  the 
military  exhibition  of  Strassburg  about  1905.  In  re- 
ferring to  this  object,  we  should  mention  the  discov- 
ery in  Fillinges  in  the  Haute  Savoie  which  took  place 
several  years  ago,  when  a  hoard  of  five  or  more 
breastplates  of  this  type  and  one  backplate  were 
found  lying  together  like  a  pile  of  broken  shells.  The 
backplate  is  here  exhibited.    Additional  objects  of 


PLATE  XI 
HUNTING   (or  war)  HORNS 
XI,   XII,   AND  XV  CENTURIES 
DINO  AND  MORGAN  COLLECTIONS 

SEE   PAGE  40 


BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY  27 

this  period  in  the  present  collection  include  several 
gracefully  modeled  greaves,  sixth  or  fifth  century;  a 
belt,  Etruscan,  fourth  century  B.  C.  from  the  ruins 
of  Bitulinia;  shield  bosses,  dating  from  the  seventh 
century  (?) ;  together  with  a  series  of  spear-heads, 
swords,  and  daggers.  Of  the  latter,  one  retains  its 
bronze  sheath.  In  all  these  arms,  it  may  be  men- 
tioned, the  workmanship  is  excellent.  The  de- 
signs have  been  traced  free-hand,  but  accurately,  and 
no  little  artistic  judgment  is  shown  in  execution.  In 
this  regard,  one  recalls  the  ''Casque  of  Hannibal," 
an  Etruscan  head-piece,  which  is  now  preserved  in 
the  museum  of  Perugia.  This  object  ranks  with  the 
best  of  armor,  whether  ancient  or  mediaeval. 

The  beautiful  arms  of  Greek,  or  broadly,  Italiote 
workmanship  of  the  sixth  and  fifth  centuries  B.  C, 
are  a  legitimate  product  of  this  splendid  period. 
Their  makers  were  artists  whose  position  in  the 
community  appears  to  have  been  quite  equal  to  that 
of  the  designers  of  vases  or  buildings,  and  in  their 
pride  in  their  work,  they  sometimes  carefully  signed 
their  pieces.  It  is  only  to  be  deplored  that  the  works 
of  these  early  armorers  are  now  so  rare.  The  casque 
in  Perugia,  and  specimens  in  the  museums  in  Athens, 
Naples,  Paris,  or  Berlin,  are  at  least  enough  to  show 
the  degree  of  taste,  one  is  tempted  to  say  perfection, 
which  the  art  of  the  armorer  had  then  attained. 

In  spite  of  the  lack  of  many  objects  for  study, 
the  equipment  in  Greek  times  is  adequately  known. 
Contemporary  paintings,  coins,  and  sculpture  yield 
details  which  are  in  all  probability  accurate.  Figures 


28     BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY 

in  armor  were  favorite  themes  of  vase  painters  and 
from  their  works  we  may  classify  corselets  and 
casques,  swords,  bows,  quivers,  lances,  war-axes. 
(Plate  IV.)  The  helm,  close-fitting,  fashioned  from 
a  single  piece,  protecting  not  only  the  cranium  but 
the  nose,  cheeks,  and  chin  (Corinthian  form),  was  an 
excellent  test  of  the  armorer's  skill,  and  such  an  ob- 
ject (in  J  3  and  J  4)  well  repays  careful  examina- 
tion. It  was  so  made  that  the  metal  was  thickest  at 
exposed  parts:  then,  too,  rims  were  reinforced,  and 
there  were  apt  to  be  ornamental  borders  and  well- 
planned  ridges  which  strengthen  the  surfaces  arid  at 
the  same  time  provide  attractive  lights  and  shades. 
Corselets  were  of  numerous  types,  the  most  highly 
specialized  having  been  modeled  closely  to  the  mus- 
cles of  the  chest.  The  abdomen  was  little  protected, 
also  the  sword  arm.  The  legs,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  furnished  with  tall  greaves  and,  rarely,  thigh 
defenses,  or  cuts  sards  (see  Plate  IV).  A  huge  shield 
was  the  major  defense. 

Altogether,  the  panoply  was  designed  to  hamper 
as  little  as  possible  the  movements  of  the  wearer. 
And  if  a  modern,  or,  still  better,  a  mediaeval  soldier 
could  have  observed  the  individual  attacks  at  Mara- 
thon or  Plataea,  he  would  probably  have  been  dumb- 
founded at  the  suddenness  of  the  charges,  the  rapidity 
of  .the  thrusts,  and  the  quickness  with  which  the 
heavily  armored  Greek  dropped  to  his  knee,  rose,  or 
feinted.  I  have  seen  no  comment  upon  the  supreme 
activity  of  the  Greek  soldier  in  battle,  but  his  armor 
gives  the  clearest  proof  that  he  specialized  his  equip- 


PLATE  XII 

'ivory"  saddles,  XIV,  XV,  AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 
SEE  PAGE  41 


BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY  29 

ment  in  this  functional  direction.  There  was  no 
reason  why  he  should  not  have  worn  more  complete 
armor,  and  if  he  did  not  protect  his  abdomen  and 
thighs  it  was  because  he  wished  to  keep  unhampered 
his  movements  in  running,  leaping,  twisting,  bending, 
and  stooping.  Note,  for  example,  the  details  of  his 
greave:  its  ends  show  that  it  was  formed  so  as  to 
restrict  as  little  as  possible  the  varied  movements  of 
knee  and  ankle.  That  his  sword  arm  was  bare 
showed  that  he  would  not  embarrass  it  even  with 
the  weight  of  a  leathern  sleeve ;  for  to  retard  the  move- 
ment of  his  arm  the  fraction  of  a  second  might  cost 
him  a  fatal  wound.  The  use  of  the  shield  does  not 
mean,  indeed,  that  it  was  unnecessary  for  the  soldier 
toprotectotherwisetheabdomen  and  thighs:  certainly 
his  sword  arm  was  exposed,  yet  was  unprotected, 
and  his  corselet  fitted  too  closely  the  lower  ribs  and 
marked  out  too  accurately  the  limits  of  the  muscles 
which  function  in  stooping,  to  have  been  developed 
as  a  mere  accident.  In  fact,  even  when  armor  of  the 
thighs  is  present  it  is  of  a  special  form  so  as  to  hinder 
little  their  activity. 

This  line  of  development  in  armor,  i.  e.,  allowing 
a  maximum  of  the  wearer's  active  movements,  seems 
to  have  been  followed  for  a  considerable  period,  for 
we  have  numerous  documents  tracing  its  changes  dur- 
ing the  last  centuries  before  Christ  and  during  the 
early  centuries  of  the  Roman  Empire.  The  soldier 
of  Rome  (Plate  V)  was  provided  with  armor  which 
was  suited  for  long  marches  and  active  movements. 
The  flexible  corselet  and  shoulder  defenses,  or  span- 


30     BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY 

drels,  were  admirably  designed  to  these  ends.  They 
were  formed  of  bands  of  iron,  articulating  by  means 
of  leather  straps,  and  were  probably  a  modified  form 
of  the  earlier  jazeran — which  was  still  occasionally 
used — in  which  the  horizontal  rows  of  scales  became 
transformed  into  bands.  This  enabled  the  wearer  to 
discard  the  underlying  jacket  and  to  substitute  a 
stronger  corselet  at  less  outlay.  For  the  study  of  the 
arms  and  armor  from  about  the  year  400  B.  C.  to  the 
time  of  Augustus  Caesar  many  important  fmds  have 
been  made  in  the  Swiss  lake  deposits.  At  La  Tene 
(near  Neufchatel)  so  complete  is  the  series  of  these  re- 
mains that  one  can  give  relative  dates  to  various 
forms  of  iron  swords,  spear-points,  and  other  weapons. 
And  it  is  found,  in  the  most  interesting  way,  that 
these  comparisons  hold  good  for  arms  found  through- 
out Europe  generally. 

We  have  few  objects  to  illustrate  the  work  of  the 
artists  of  La  Tene  times,  nor  yet  of  Imperial  Rome. 
In  the  Bronze  Room  there  is,  however,  an  excellent 
horse  frontal,  beautifully  incised,  which  dates  prob- 
ably from  the  second  division  of  La  Tene  times  (250- 
150  B.  C),  and  there  are  also  several  helmets  and  a 
few  arms.  Our  knowledge  of  the  armor  of  the  Roman 
Empire  is  based  largely  upon  contemporary  sculp- 
tures, portrait  statues,  and  especially  upon  the  reliefs 
given  in  wealth  of  detail  on  Trajan's  column  (A.  D. 
114).  Here  appear  not  only  Roman  officers,  legion- 
aries, and  their  train,  but  barbarians  in  full  panoply. 
The  latter  show  that  highly  ornamented  arms  were 
sometimes  carried,  that  scale-  and  chain-armor  were 


PLATE  XIII 
CHESS  FIGURE,   ABOUT  I35O 
MARBLE   RELIEF,  ABOUT   1 3OO 
SEE   PAGES  41,  43 


BRONZE  AGE  AND  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITY  3I 

in  frequent  use,  that  their  horses  were  sometimes 
armored,  even  to  the  fetlocks.  Here,  too,  the  fa- 
mous Roman  short  sword  is  pictured,  but,  curiously 
enough,  the  pilum  is  not  represented.  This  was  a 
long-necked  spear  which  could  be  driven  through  a 
shield  and  passing  its  full  length,  transfix  several 
enemies — breaking  the  virtue  of  the  close-set  mass 
of  soldiers,  or  phalanx,''  which  had  played  so  im- 
portant a  part  in  earlier  wars. 

The  best  actual  specimens  of  the  armor  of  this  age 
are  preserved  in  the  Naples  museum,  which  exhibits 
the  remarkable  fmds  from  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum 
(A.  D.  79),  including  objects  engraved,  gilded,  and 
embossed.  Of  the  last  type  is  the  famous  visor  of  a 
helmet  in  the  form  of  a  face  which  was  found  in  Eng- 
land (Rochester)  and  is  now  preserved  in  the  British 
Museum.  Its  workmanship  suggests  the  hand  of  a 
Roman  Negroli. 


V 


THE  EARLY  CENTURIES  OF  THE 
CHRISTIAN  ERA 

WITH  the  breaking  down  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire new  styles  of  arms  and  armor  were 
developed,  and  new  methods  in  warfare 
were  introduced.  Roman  fashions  were  rejected  or 
could  not  be  reproduced.  The  types  of  arms  that 
then  came  into  being  suggest  in  details  Oriental  in- 
fluence. Scaled  corselets  (jazerans)  appeared  more 
abundantly,  shields  developed  larger  bosses,  and 
swords  became  again  long  and  narrow,  but  straight- 
edged,  not  leaf-shaped  as  in  early  Gallic  times.  Axes 
appeared  in  such  numbers  that  they  are  spoken  of  as 
the  national  weapons  of  the  tribes  which  swept  into 
the  Roman  Empire  over  the  German  and  Dacian 
frontiers.  Specimens  of  these  arms  date  usually  from 
the  fourth  to  the  eighth  century  A.  D.  They  are 
shown  in  numerous  examples  in  Case  i  in  the  present 
main  hall — a  remarkable  series  which  forms  by  no 
means  an  unimportant  part  of  the  J.  Pierpont  Mor- 
gan Collection.  They  were  originally  brought  to- 
gether by  Stanislas  Baron,  who  for  many  years  ex- 
plored the  Prankish  cemeteries  in  the  neighborhood 

32 


PLATE  XIV 

TRANSITIONAL  ARMOR  OF  GUENTHER  VON 
SCHWARZBURG,    I35O,  AFTER  HEWITT 

SEE   PAGE  42 


EARLY   CHRISTIAN    ERA  33 

of  Vermant,  Belgium.  They  include  a  number  of 
splendid  swords,  one  of  which  has  its  hilt  enriched 
with  gold  and  garnets;  a  shield  boss  of  unusual  size 
entirely  incrusted  with  gold;  numerous  axe-heads  and 
spear-points;  daggers  of  peculiar  form,  or  scramasax, 
which  in  several  specimens  preserve  their  scabbards. 

The  warrior  of  the  sixth  or  seventh  century  (Plate 
VI)  was  often  far  less  completely  armored  than  the 
Roman  legionary:  he  had  no  metal  corselet,  a  jacket 
of  hide  protecting  his  body,  and  he  had  no  defenses 
for  face  or  neck.  On  the  other  hand,  his  arms  and 
legs  were  protected  in  a  measure,  and  his  lower  legs 
were  closely  wrapped  with  a  kind  of  puttee.  His 
major  defense  was  his  Spangenhelm,  or  conical  casque 
made  up  of  many  pieces,  and  his  great  shield,  which 
was  wooden,  covered  with  leather,  and  reinforced 
with  iron — the  latter  in  the  form  of  a  central  boss 
and  radiating  and  concentric  bands.  His  equipment, 
although  primitive  to  a  certain  degree,  bore  some- 
times, as  the  present  specimens  show,  rich  ornaments. 
Buckles,  hooks,  hilts,  scabbards,  bands  of  casques, 
are  sometimes  engraved  and  gilded,  or  beautifully 
inlaid  with  precious  metals  in  close-set  Merovingian 
strapwork  (Addition  F,  2). 

The  supreme  development  of  early  Teutonic  armor 
may  be  seen  (Plate  VII)  in  the  equipment  of  a 
Prankish  warrior  of  the  time  of  Charlemagne  (early 
ninth  century).  Here  the  jacket  of  hide  has  been 
replaced  by  a  jazeran,  or  coat  of  scales  (see  the  speci- 
men in  Case  15,  which  dates,  however,  from  the  fif- 
teenth century)  on  which  the  scales,  whether  of  metal 


34  EARLY   CHRISTIAN  ERA 

or  boiled  leather,  are  sewed  in  place.  The  helmet  is 
fuller  and  deeper,  protecting  the  face  by  its  flaring 
rim:  attached  to  it  is  a  hood,  of  leather  or  mail,  to 
protect  the  neck  and  face.  In  ofi'ensive  arms  the 
pilum-shaped  dart  has  given  place  to  a  stout  lance, 
finished  with  a  long,  leaf-shaped  head,  reinforced  by 
basal  prongs  (Case  i). 


PLATE  XV 

ARMOR   TRANSITIONAL    FROM   CHAIN   TO  PLATE, 
AFTER  HEWITT,   FROM  MS.  "mELIADUs" 

SEE   PAGE  43 


VI 


CHAIN-MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR 

A FAIRLY  distinct  period  in  the  history  of  Eu- 
ropean armor  is  marked  by  the  development 
of  chain-mail.  This  was  flexible,  light,  and 
extremely  strong.  It  came,  therefore,  to  supplant 
the  cruder  defenses  of  Carolingian  times.  It  was 
largely  in  use  from  the  tenth  century  onward,  but 
became  a  secondary  defense  about  1300.  In  gen- 
eral, this  type  of  armor  is  believed  to  have  been  in- 
troduced into  Europe  from  the  Orient,  where  its 
use  survived  until  recent  times — and  where  it  may 
still  survive.  In  the  Caucasus,  for  example,  coats  of 
chain  were  worn  recently,  and  in  Thibet  within  about 
ten  years  a  British  expedition  found  native  soldiers  in 
shirts  of  riveted  mail.  It  was  early  held  that  Euro- 
pean mail  was  introduced  from  the  E/st  during  the 
Crusades.  But  it  is  now  known  that  the  people  of 
northern  Europe  wore  mail  at  an  early  period.  The 
Norse  records  speak  of  primitive  hauberks  as  "war- 
nets  woven  by  the  smith  hand  locked  and  riveted," 
and  fragments  of  these  have  been  found  in  Viking 
burials.  This  mail,  it  is  true,  may  have  come  from 
the  East,  for  we  know  that  the  Norsemen  carried 


36   CHAIN -MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR 

their  excursions  far  into  the  Mediterranean  and  were 
well  acquainted  with  Oriental  objects.  In  this  con- 
nection, one  recalls  the  peacock  feathers — which  came 
probably  from  India — which  were  found  in  one  of  the 
Viking  boats  now  preserved  in  the  University  of 
Christiania.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probable  that 
chain-mail  was  more  or  less  continuously  used  in 
Europe  since  Roman  times,  for  the  sculptures  on 
Trajan's  column  (A.  D.  114)  demonstrate  that  the 
lorica  catenata  was  quite  similar  to  mediaeval  mail. 

Specimens  of  mail  which  undoubtedly  date  be- 
tween the  earliest  times  and  the  fourteenth  century 
are  almost  unknown  in  collections.  Even  fragments 
of  it  are  very  rare;  for  mail,  presenting  in  each  link  so 
large  a  surface  for  rusting,  has  in  the  course  of  cen- 
turies melted  away.  Our  knowledge  of  early  mail 
has  therefore  been  based  upon  contemporary  illus- 
trations, notably  illuminated  miniatures  and  grave- 
stone figures. 

The  mail  of  the  eleventh  century  is  pictured  in  de- 
tail in  the  embroidery  of  Bayeux.  (Plate  VIII.) 
From  this  wonderful  ''document''  we  know  that 
several  types  of  ring  mail  were  already  in  use.  A 
prevailing  form  was  fashioned  of  heavy  iron  rings 
which  appear  to  have  been  sewed  in  bands  upon  a 
heavily  padded  garment:  this  padding,  by  the  way, 
was  always  of  the  utmost  value  in  this  type  of  de- 
fense; for  chain-mail,  while  preventing  a  point  or  edge 
entering  it,  was  flexible  and  did  not  guard  against 
a  crushing  blow,  as  of  a  mace  or  war-axe.  There  are 
no  actual  specimens  of  the  mail  of  this  period,  but  we 


PLATE  XVI 
EARLY  PLATE-ARMOR,  I4OI 
AFTER  BRASS  OF  SIR  NICHOLAS  DAGWORTH 

SEE   PAGE  47 


CHAIN -MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR  37 

conclude  that  the  rings  were  heavy  and  large:  we 
know  that  the  hauberks  were  long  and  complete,  en- 
veloping the  head  and  extending  to  or  below  the 
knees.  The  head-piece  was  a  conical  helmet  made 
of  several  plates  riveted  together  and  provided  with 
a  heavy  nose  guard  (see  Case  i).  A  further  defense 
was  a  long,  kite-shaped  shield  which  usually  retained 
its  median  boss,  recalling,  in  fact,  the  shields  of 
earlier  ages.  Offensive  arms  of  this  period  include 
the  war-axe  (Cases  i,  i8),  which  now  is  provided  with 
a  long  handle  and  is  wielded  by  two  hands;  a  large, 
long-bladed,  two-edged  sword;  darts  or  javelins;  and 
various  forms  of  arrows  and  bows. 

Complete  suits  of  chain-mail  date  from  the  twelfth 
century  and  were  the  characteristic  armor  of  the  early 
Crusades.  Examples  of  this  type,  but  of  slightly 
later  date,  are  pictured  in  Plates  IX  and  X.  One 
of  these  shows  the  long-discussed  "banded''  mail 
which  sometimes  dates  as  early  as  1200.  In  this  the 
bands  appear  to  have  been  produced  in  different 
ways:  in  one  of  them  thongs  of  leather  were  passed 
through  successive  rows  of  links.  We  know  that  at 
one  time  the  mail  covering  the  feet  was  included  with 
the  leg  covering,  and  that  a  hood  and  mittened 
sleeves  were  continuous  with  the  skirt.  During  this 
period,  the  head-piece  was  a  broad  iron  cap,  or  primi- 
tive basinet.  Over  the  body  was  worn  a  cloth  sur- 
coat,  which  hung  loosely  from  the  shoulders  and  was 
drawn  together  at  the  waist  by  a  knightly  girdle.  It 
bore  heraldic  devices,  which  were  also  blazoned  on  a 
short  triangular  shield  (Case  17)  carried  slung  from 


38    CHAIN -MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR 

the  shoulders.  It  has  been  observed  that  the  shield 
became  reduced  in  size  as  the  efficiency  of  the  mail 
increased.  About  the  end  of  the  thirteenth  century 
supplemental  shields,  also  with  heraldic  ornament, 
appeared  in  curious  plates,  or  ailettes,  which  were 
laced  to  each  shoulder.  (Plate  IX.)  They  were  so 
attached  that  when  struck  they  tilted  over  and  de- 
flected the  blow.  They  are  characteristic  of  a  period 
of  about  half  a  century.  No  actual  example  of  a 
European  ailette  appears  to  have  been  preserved. 
In  Japanese  armor,  on  the  other  hand,  an  ailette-like 
defense,  the  sode,  was  retained  for  over  a  thousand 
years. 

Advances  in  the  ofiPensive  arms  of  this  period  in- 
clude the  lengthening  of  the  sword,  which  now  tapers 
from  hilt  to  tip,  and  the  more  constant  appearance  of 
the  lance. 

Horse  armor  is  not  pictured  in  the  Bayeux  "tap- 
estry." It  appears,  however,  occasionally  during  the 
late  thirteenth  century.  It  was  then  a  blanket-like 
housing  of  chain-mail. 

In  the  present  collection  there  are  few  objects  dat- 
ing from  the  earlier  period  of  chain-mail.  The  oldest 
hauberks  in  the  collection,  shown  in  Cases  11,  12,  14, 
certainly  do  not  antedate  the  fourteenth  century, 
and,  with  few  exceptions,  were  worn  under  complete 
armor  or  as  supplemental  defenses.  With  these  are 
exhibited  coiffes  of  chain-mail  which  probably  date 
from  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  and 
leggings  of  mail,  also  of  this  century.  In  other 
cases  (Cases  2  and  31)  are  mail  neck  defenses,  camail, 


CHAIN-MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR  39 

also  hrayettes  or  groin  defenses  (fifteenth  century?) 
(Case  2).  There  are  also  head-coverings  which  are 
made  of  coiled  rope  (probably  fourteenth  century) 
and  were  worn  under  caps  of  chain-mail  (Cases  12,  13). 

In  many  instances  the  mail  itself  is  beautifully 
fashioned.  Each  link  is  carefully  closed  and  riveted. 
Numerous  examples  of  "double"  mail  are  shown. 
This  was  rarely  formed  of  doubled  links,  but  was 
closely  woven,  each  link  attached  to  the  usual  four 
neighboring  rings,  but  thick  and  heavy,  filling 
up  the  mesh  of  the  mail,  and  preventing  the  en- 
trance of  even  a  pin-point  (Cases  2,  13).  Mail,  we 
may  note,  is  one  of  the  few  objects  which  faussaires 
fail  to  reproduce,  for  a  copy  of  a  shirt  of  mail  would 
cost  today  more  than  an  original  object.  Each 
link  of  the  shirt  is  made  separately,  and  one  may 
understand  what  labor  this  involves  when  he  learns 
that  in  a  hauberk  in  the  present  collection  there  are 
over  two  hundred  thousand  rings,  which  probably 
cost  its  maker  years  of  unremitting  work.  The 
collector's  embarrassment  in  dealing  with  chain-mail 
is  not  in  avoiding  modern  copies,  but  in  learning 
to  distinguish  European  from  Oriental  mail,  which 
is  far  less  valuable;  for  while  European  mail  was 
rarely  made  after  1600,  the  Oriental  armorers 
produced  large  quantities  of  chain  shirts  during 
the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries.  Only 
in  the  technical  details  do  these  differ  from  German 
or  Italian  examples. 

Dating  from  the  chain-mail  "period,"  the  collec- 
tion shows  numerous  trappings  (Case  16).  Prick 


40     CHAIN -MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR 

spurs  are  here  and  early  spurs  with  rowels,  including 
a  splendid  specimen,  engraved  and  gilded,  bearing 
the  arms  of  the  de  Dreux  family.  Here,  too,  are 
numbers  of  armorial  pendants  (Case  8).  These  are 
of  various  shapes  and  sizes  and  were  attached  to  mail 
or  to  horse  trappings  in  various  ways.  Some  were 
''badges  of  recognition,''  worn  by  heralds  or  mes- 
sengers. Others  seem  to  have  been  strung  along  the 
lower  rim  of  a  horse's  chest-strap,  or  peytrel.  Others 
still  were  parts  of  stirrups  or  even  spurs  (see  the 
splendid  example  in  Case  8).  These  objects  are 
frequently  ornamented  with  enamels,  fashioned 
elaborately,  and  beautiful  in  their  blazonry.  They 
date  from  the  eleventh  to  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
majority,  however,  probably  from  the  fourteenth 
century.  Many  of  the  specimens  are  Spanish.  The 
present  series  formed  an  important  part  of  the  de 
Dino  Collection. 

Near  the  case  of  armorial  pendants  are  two  ivory 
hunting  (or  war)  horns  (Case  6)  which  merit  careful 
inspection.  (Plate  XI.)  The  larger  one  is  an  olifant 
from  the  Benedictine  abbey  at  Dijon;  it  dates  from 
the  twelfth  (?)  century,  and  is  accompanied  with  a 
leather  case  which  was  prepared  for  it  in  the  fifteenth 
century.  It  may  well  have  had  an  Oriental  origin, 
possibly  Persian,  its  deeply  incised  medallions  pic- 
turing lions,  antelopes,  elephants,  and  a  turbaned 
figure.  The  smaller  specimen  is  earHer;  it  is  probably 
from  northern  Europe.  Other  olifants,  including  a 
fragment  which  suggests  our  larger  specimen,  may  be 
seen  in  the  Morgan  Collection.   In  Case  i6  note  also 


PLATE  XVIII 
GOTHIC  ARMOR,  ABOUT   1 43  5 
AFTER  THE   BRASS  OF  ROGER  ELMBRYGGE 
SEE   PAGE  49 


CHAIN-MAIL  AND  MEDIAEVAL  ARMOR  4I 

the  ivory  hilt  of  a  dagger  carved  elaborately  a  jour; 
it  is  Venetian,  thirteenth  century. 

These  ivory  objects  suggest  the  "ivory  saddles" 
shown  in  Cases  7  and  9,  although  they  are  not  so 
old  as  the  olifants  here  considered,  nor  are  they  really 
of  ivory.  They  are  early,  none  the  less,  and  are 
among  the  rarest  objects  in  the  collection.  (Plate 
XII.)  The  smaller  saddle  is  German,  dating  1400  or 
earlier;  the  other  is  Italian,  about  1450:  both  are 
wooden,  veneered  with  plates  of  bone  which  have 
been  sculptured  and  polychromed.  From  the  stand- 
point of  early  ornament  these  objects  are  of  the  high- 
est interest.  Few  museums  possess  them:  the  most 
closely  related  examples  are  in  the  imperial  historical 
museum  in  Vienna  and  in  the  Wallace  Collection  in 
London. 

As  a  final  illustration  of  the  equipment  of  this 
period,  one  should  examine  the  small  equestrian  fig- 
ure (Plate  XIII)  which  came  from  Poblet,  probably 
from  the  tomb  of  King  James  the  Wise  of  Aragon, 
who  died  in  1276  (see  Bulletin  of  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art,  August,  191 3,  pp.  171-173):  this  is 
now  exhibited  in  Addition  F,  i . 


VII 


THE  PERIOD  OF  TRANSITION  FROM 
CHAIN-MAIL  TO  PLATE-ARMOR 

DURING  the  period  from  1200  to  1400,  there 
were  notable  improvements  in  military 
equipment.  In  one  regard,  chain-mail  came 
to  be  reinforced  with  bands  or  plates  of  steel  which 
guarded  the  wearer  from  the  shock  of  blows.  In 
early  examples,  suits  of  chain  were  reinforced  with 
an  occasional  plate,  e.  g.,  a  knee-  or  elbow-guard,  or 
a  face-plate  attached  more  or,  less  loosely  to  the 
head-piece.  These  supplementary  pieces  were  some- 
times of  iron,  often,  however,  of  leather  hardened  by 
boiling.  Of  the  latter  material  were  probably  the 
supplemental  defenses  of  Guenther  von  Schwarz- 
burg.  King  of  the  Romans  (about  1350),  which  are 
represented  in  his  tomb-effigy.  Here  (Plate  XIV) 
■  only  the  bands,  ornaments,  and  head  defense  appear 
to  have  been  metal.  Another  line  of  improvement 
concerned  the  defensive  armor  of  the  head.  The 
casque,  or  basinet,  was  closely  modeled  to  the  head  of 
a  wearer  and  it  had  laced  to  it  a  camail,  or  wide  collar 
of  chain-mail.  At  this  period,  the  basinet  had  some- 
times fitted  over  it,  but  separated  by  heavy  padding, 

42 


?fiar'um4r;o'ui&ua-\)mtafoTrt,rt  lora  Eu\3flintu3  -4^  -i^ltnupljans  A  Ion  aiflif ->  ft  prfus  ft  tjarOis  n  (ubfide  ■ 

wjotjitiis  [stis  atlfnbrt-brstuianl'umt  fa  nrfs  brfchibrt-  '  "HiJarjo'UBtuj  fu  Itjiploitottl  quifrsnqs  fu  biugljirr 'uoloir 

gjnCi  Imi  granii  ioTtt  ou  iiouUiur«.  dl  julles  cljiCar  par  amour-  vcffarpms  racachs  Cans  iiijucte-Oiraph  brfnnis  ft  b  routr 

If  6(inam(  mtrt  Ifsfrancois  -  quili  trouXid  Ifaus  a  Con  rtjoia  baillfs  «  portfs  Of  [fns  =.  rt  o  lui  Ifs  franroia  ^ic  <iIIi-il<! 


PLATE  XIX 
ARMOR  OF  1450 
FROM  ONE  OF  THE  CAESAR  TAPESTRIES  (bERN) 
AFTER  JUBINAL 
SEE  PAGE  50 


V 


transition:  chain-mail  t/6  plate-armor  43 

a  second  helmet,  a  thimble-shaped  heaume.  This, 
together  with  surcoat  and^hield,  bore  heraldic  de- 
vices. From  this  period,  say  1350,  dates  the  inter- 
esting little  chess  figure,  illustrated  by  Hewitt  in  his 
work  on  armor.  The  original  of  this  has,  it  appears, 
been  lost,  but  a  copy  in  plaster  had  been  preserved 
and  this  is  shown  in  Case  7,  giving  an  excellent  idea 
of  the  military  equipment  of  the  time.  (Plate  X 1 11 .) 
In  this  chessman,  which  is  probably  English,  the 
housing  of  the  horse  is  of  chain-mail,  and  came  down 
to  its  fetlocks,  in  spite  of  Hewitt's  picture;  for  the 
cast  shows  that  the  little  horse  was  slid  along  the 
chess-board  on  an  elliptical  base  and  never  had  longer 
legs.  The  head  of  the  horse  is  completely  enclosed  in 
a  case  which  from  its  size  and  construction  was  prob- 
ably of  boiled  leather.  The  cavalier  has  leg  defenses 
of  metal  or  of  hardened  leather  and  he  bears  on  his 
arm  a  small  shield.  (Compare  also  the  armor  shown 
in  Plate  XV.) 

Actual  examples  of  armor  of  the  transitional  period 
are  extremely  rare.  The  present  collection  is,  how- 
ever, rich  in  its  series.  It  has  important  basinets 
(Cases  I,  2,  10,  16),  some  with  their  curious  visors 
''pig-faced"  or  "dog-faced."  It  has  also  leg  de- 
fenses which  show  the  traces  of  stuff  (canvas,  covered 
with  silk?)  with  which  they  were  originally  covered 
(shown  mounted  in  Case  14),  and  several  pieces  of 
boiled  leather  defenses  for  knees  or  elbows  (four- 
teenth century)  (Case  2).  The  last  were  lately  dis- 
covered in  a  grotto  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bordeaux 
and  are  believed  to  be  the  only  specimens  of  the  kind 


44  transition:  chain-mail  to  plate-armor 

extant.  In  Case  i8  is  shown  a  gauntlet  dating  from 
1 380,  together  with  an  elbow  and  upper  arm  defense. 
There  are  also  pieces  of  chain-armor,  including  camail. 
Other  objects  include  spurs,  swords,  axes,  and  dag- 
gers.   (Cases  2,  16,  and  18.) 

It  was  in  this  period  that  fire-arms  were  first  used 
in  European  warfare.  They  appear  in  the  siege  of 
Algeciras  in  1341  and  of  Calais  in  1346.  They  were 
cannon:  which  when  small  were  usually  funnel- 
shaped,  or  when  large,  fashioned  like  barrels  out  of 
iron  staves  and  hoops.  At  the  best,  they  were 
crudely  made,  often  by  local  armorers  and  black- 
smiths. Instead  of  cannon  balls,  stones  were  used, 
which  of  course  had  little  penetrating  power,  espe- 
cially with  the  imperfect  powder  of  the  time.  Still, 
the  advantage  of  this  type  of  arm  was  soon  realized, 
and  many  victories  were  gained  through  the  breaches 
in  city  walls  made  by  these  early  pierriers  and  bom- 
bards. Within  a  century,  artillery  became  a  vital 
part  of  large  armies.  Constantinople  was  taken  by 
means  of  cannon,  and  the  losses  of  the  Moors  in  Spain 
were  due  in  no  little  part  to  the  operations  of  the 
Spanish  and  Italian  artillerymen.  A  cannon  of  the 
earliest  type,  pierrier,  is  shown  in  the  present  collec- 
tion near  Case  1 5  (wooden  stand  and  iron  mountings 
modern),  and  one  of  somewhat  later  date,  falconet, 
near  Case  21  (stand  and  mountings  also  modern). 


PLATE  XX 
GOTHIC  ARMOR,   ITALIAN,  ABOUT  I460 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE  PAGE  46 


O 


VIII 


THE  PERIOD  OF  PLATE-ARMOR 
AND  OF  FIRE-ARMS 
(1400- 1 780) 

lOMPLETE  armor  of  plate  was  in  use  at  the 


beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  it 


was  during  this  time,  as  already  noted,  that 
the  armorer  produced  his  best  work.  Already  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  his  art  began  to  decline,  and  the 
supreme  examples  of  a  later  period  are  important  as 
illustrating  the  work  rather  of  the  goldsmith  than  of 
the  armorer.  In  the  seventeenth  century  complete 
armor  disappeared,  for  at  this  time,  owing  to  the 
perfection  and  widespread  use  of  fire-arms,  the  soldier 
found  that  the  great  weight  of  his  armor,  which  in- 
deed made  it  almost  unbearable,  did  not  compensate 
him  for  the  imperfect  protection  it  offered.  So  it 
came  about,  during  the  time  of  the  Thirty  Years' 
War,  which  ended  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  that  armor  was  discarded  piece  by  piece. 
In  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  used  only  as  a  cere- 
monial costume  for  the  highest  officers. 

Under  this  heading,  we  may  trace  the  development 
of  arms  and  armor  chronologically. 


45 


46        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 
A.     ARMOR  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

This  is  the  "Gothic''  armor — beautiful  in  its 
lines,  elegantly  fitted,  its  parts  articulating  with  great 
precision — which  appeals  alike  to  artist  and  collector. 
It  appeared  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  in  the  Burgun- 
dian  defeats;  it  was  pictured  by  Durer,  Van  Eyck,  and 
Carpaccio;  it  is  the  armor  of  the  time  of  Joan  of  Arc, 
of  Louis  XI,  of  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  of  the 
conquest  of  the  Spanish  Moors,  and  of  the  Itahan 
wars  of  the  Renaissance.  Early  examples  are  present 
only  in  "compositions"  in  which  pieces  of  armor 
from  different  suits  are  brought  together,  as  in  Case 
31,  which  shows  a  suit  made  up  of  separate  elements, 
many  of  which  date  between  1380  and  1420.  There 
exist  no  harnesses,  even  fairly  complete,  dating 
earlier  than  1460.  And  of  this  period  they  are  known 
only  in  the  Churburg,  in  Vienna,  Bern,  and  New 
York.  The  specimen  shown  in  Case  25,  although 
somewhat  "made  up,"  will  probably  be  ranked  by 
connoisseurs  as  the  most  important  harness  in  the 
present  collection.  (Shown  in  Plate  XX.)  It  is  of 
Italian  workmanship  and  bears  the  mark  of  its  maker 
on  many  of  its  plates.  Evidences  of  its  early  period 
are  seen  in  its  well-rounded  breastplate  with  its 
high  pansiere,  in  its  huge  shoulder  pieces,  in  the  broad 
guards  {epaule  de  mouton)  which  defend  the  elbows, 
in  the  broad  bands  of  the  skirt,  and  in  the  wide-cuffed 
mitten-gauntlets  which  open  broadly  on  the  under 
side  of  the  wrist.  A  suit  of  the  same  early  period  is 
also  shown  mounted  as  an  equestrian  figure  {E.  5) 
in  the  central  gallery.    This,  however,  is  distinctly 


ARMOR — FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  47 

a  composition,  though  a  number  of  its  pieces  were 
made  in  Milan  by  the  same  family  of  artist-armorers, 
the  Missaglia,  whose  proof -marks  are  borne  on 
various  parts  of  the  suit.  Breastplate,  one  gauntlet, 
casque,  face  guard,  most  of  the  arm  pieces,  and  the 
great  knee  guard  date  about  1450;  the  other  authen- 
tic parts,  1 460- 1 475. 

On  account  of  the  lack  of  actual  specimens,  our 
knowledge  of  the  arms  and  armor  of  the  first  half  of 
the  fifteenth  century  is  derived  largely  from  con- 
temporary paintings,  tapestries,  and  monuments, 
from  which  we  may  sketch  briefly  the  changes  which 
took  place  in  the  development  of  the  knight's  pan- 
oply. From  such  sources  we  select  for  illustration 
Plates  XVI-XIX. 

In  the  monumental  brass  of  Sir  Nicholas  Dag- 
worth,  which  dates  about  1401,  there  appears  one  of 
the  earHe^st  complete  harnesses  of  plate.  (Plate  XVI.) 
The  basinet  is  still  present  with  its  camail  and 
heaume,  on  which  the  head  of  the  present  figure  is 
resting.  The  body  armoring  has  a  narrow-waisted 
cuirass,  includes  a  short  coat  of  mail,  and  is  enclosed 
in  a  tight-fitting  surcoat.  The  arms  were  completely 
protected  by  plate.  The  gauntlets  were  apparently 
of  boiled  leather,  reinforced  by  bands  of  metal.  The 
leg  armoring  is  complete,  the  knee  defense  small  and 
characteristic  of  this  epoch;  a  supplementary  plate 
reinforces  the  upper  part  of  the  greave;  the  leg  ap- 
pears to  have  been  encased  in  stockings  reinforced 
with  areas  of  chain-mail;  the  shoes,  or  soUerets, 
were  narrow  and  delicately  articulated.  The  knightly 


48        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

belt  bears  the  long  sword  with  tapering  blade,  straight 
guard  or  quillons,  and  a  dagger  with  round  guard  and 
pommel  {a  rouelle). 

At  this  point  we  may  introduce  an  illustration 
(Plate  XVII)  showing  the  panoply  of  a  German 
knight  of  later  date  (1421),  if  only  to  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  development  of  armor  did  not  pro- 
gress at  an  equal  pace  among  European  nations;  for 
while  the  English  at  this  period  were  introducing 
many  innovations,  the  Germans  were  conservative, 
and  the  present  suit  still  retains  many  features  of  the 
transitional  period.  The  character  of  the  camail  still 
suggests  the  mail  of  the  thirteenth  century:  indeed, 
the  thigh  guards,  the  shoulder  and  elbow  plates,  hip 
defenses,  sollerets,  and  possibly  also  the  gauntlets, 
appear  to  have  been  fashioned,  as  they  were  in  the 
preceding  century,  of  cuir-bouilli.  And  in  this 
connection  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  student 
frequently  encounters  examples  of  conservatism; 
thus  it  is  found  that  types  of  armor  which  became 
obsolete  in  western  Europe  by  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  were  still  used  in  the  Baltic  provinces 
during  the  seventeenth  century,  and,  as  Mr.  Riggs 
writes,  "Some  amusing  texts  tell  us  of  Scottish  and 
Irish  chevaliers  appearing  at  the  English  court 
pageants  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 

1  In  Case  lo  is  shown  a  basinet  dating  between  1390  and  141 5,  which 
several  writers  have  attributed  to  Joan  of  Arc.  It  is  evidently  an  ex  voto; 
for  it  bears  ancient  injuries,  probably  from  bolt  or  arrow,  and  it  was 
arranged  to  be  hung  up  by  a  chain,  as  were  memorial  objects.  In  fact, 
it  is  from  the  particular  links  of  chain  which  it  s'till  bears  that  the  iden- 
tity of  this  casque  is  said  to  have  been  established;  for  they  agreed  with 
those  in  the  chain  which  formerly  hung  abpve  the  main  altar  of  the  church 


PLATE  XXII 
GOTHIC  ARMOR,  ABOUT  I49O 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGES  49,  54 


ARMOR  —  FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  49 

turies,  armed  with  basinets  of  the  fourteenth  century 
and  cap-a-pie  suits  of  the  fifteenth  century/' 

At  a  slightly  later  period,  about  1435,  roundly 
the  time  of  Joan  of  Arc/  important  changes  had 
taken  place  in  the  fashion  of  armor. 

In  the  tomb  brass  of  Roger  Elmbrygge,  about  1435 
(Plate  XVIII),  we  note  that  thecamail  of  chain  had 
given  place  to  a  chin-piece  or  beaver  of  plate,  and  a 
neck  guard  which  protected  moreadequately,  although 
it  allowed  less  freedom  of  motion;  that  armpit  pieces 
had  appeared  to  protect  the  shoulders;  that  the 
gauntlets  were  of  plate,  simple,  however,  and  mitten- 
shaped;  that  the  armor  of  the  hip  region  had  become 
greatly  produced;  and  that  no  part  of  the  equipment 
exhibited  chain-mail.  A  heaume  was  worn,  but  its 
value  waned;  it  became  less  necessary  on  account  of 
the  changes  which  had  taken  place  in  the  basinet. 
By  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  heaume  was  alto- 
gether replaced  by  a  visored  and  beavered  basinet. 

The  second  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  produced 
great  variety  in  Gothic  harnesses,  in  some  of  which 
the  simple  lines  of  various  plates  gave  place  to  elab- 
orate angles  and  ridges.  (Compare  Plates  XXI  and 
XXII.)  In  this  connection,  one  should  examine  the 
tapestry  which  hangs  at  the  side  of  the  gallery  near 
the  Gothic  armor;  for  by  the  tapestries  of  this  type 

of  Saint  Jean  du  Martroi  at  Orleans  and  suspended  the  lost  "basinet  of 
the  Pucelle."  It  is  certain  that  the  present  object  is  French  and,  assum- 
ing its  origin,  it  may  have  belonged  to  Joan.  That  it  dates  slightly 
earlier  than  the  siege  of  Orleans  (1429)  is  not  in  itself  a  fatal  objec- 
tion, although  it  is  certainly  an  important  one,  for  the  leader  of  a  host 
would  hardly  have  worn  a  casque  of  a  type  which  had  gone  out  of 
fashion. 


50        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

(see  Plate  XIX)  one  might  illustrate  a  monograph  on 
the  arms  and  armor  of  western  Europe  between  1450 
and  1470.  Take,  for  example,  Gothic  head-pieces: 
in  the  plate  cited  one  sees  hat-shaped  chapels-de-fer, 
with  wide  brims;  small  bowl-shaped  salades  such  as 
archers  wore;  the  knightly  salades  of  the  period  with 
heavy  and  wide  visors,  sometimes  beautifully  en- 
riched ;  also  deep-fitting  salades  or  barhutes  which  were 
modeled  around  the  wearer's  face,  sometimes  to 
such  a  degree  (as  shown  in  the  prostrate  figure) 
as  to  recall  the  Corinthian  casque  (p.  28);  and, 
finally,  the  visored  basinet  with  neck  plates  (as 
shown  in  the  wounded  falling  knight),  which  still 
lingered  from  the  earlier  period  (see  casques  in  Cases 
2,  12,  13,  18,  19,  20).  These  tapestries,  too,  illus- 
trate the  various  forms  of  cuirasses,  cloth-encased 
armor,  padded  tunics,  and  body-armor  formed  of 
steel  plates  riveted  together  under  cloth.  They  show 
as  well  the  various  forms  of  swords,  lances,  war 
hammers,  breakers  of  chain-mail,  and  occasionally 
artillery.  They  are  sometimes  painfully  realistic, 
as  in  the  tapestry  now  exhibited,  where  prisoners  are 
pictured  being  put  to  death  barbarously — a  horror 
which  may  serve  as  an  index  of  a  little-known  side 
of  mediaeval  warfare,  when  prisoners  who  could  not 
pay  ransoms  were  "taken  to  the  rear  and  piked,"  or 
at  best  sold  as  slaves. 

We  have  referred  above  to  a  kind  of  corselet  made 
up  of  steel  plates  riveted  together  under  cloth.  These 
were  called  hrigandines  (Plate  XXVI),  and  they  are 
evidently  akin  to  jazerans,  which  have  been  earlier 


PLATE  XXIII 
MAXIMILIAN   ARMOR  A  TONNELET,   ABOUT  I 
DE   DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  60 


ARMOR — FI  FTE  ENTH  CENTURY  5I 

described.  In  brigandines,  however,  as  in  Case  15, 
the  scales  lay  inside,  attached  to  the  surface  of  the 
jacket  instead  of  to  its  lining.  They  appear  to  have 
been  worn  in  great  numbers,  judging  from  contem- 
porary pictures,  and  we  can  understand  that  they 
formed  flexible  and  strong  defenses,  better  in  many 
ways  than  chain-mail.  During  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  even  later,  many  varieties  of  them  were  de- 
veloped. Some  were  built  up  of  small  plates  or  scales 
which  widely  overlapped;  others  were  made  over 
bands  of  iron,  like  the  corselet  of  the  Roman  legion- 
ary; others  still  had  very  few  plates  in  their  con- 
struction, e.  g.,  two  in  front  and  three  behind  (Case  2). 

In  general,  these  brigafidines  were  provided  with 
skirts  lined  with  iron  plates  and  bands.  In  rare  cases 
they  developed  arm  and  leg  defenses  in  the  same 
fashion.  But  of  these  we  know  little  save  from  the 
evidence  of  contemporary  illustrations.  In  the  pres- 
ent collection  (Cases  20,  22,  23,  and  24)  are  shown 
several  brigandines  of  admirable  quality,  ranking 
among  the  best  of  their  kind.  It  may,  indeed,  be  re- 
marked that  only  about  thirty  more  or  less  complete 
brigandines  (only  one  of  them  retaining  its  arms)  are 
recorded  among  the  collections  of  Europe.  They 
were  objects  which  were  not  easy  to  preserve  or  to 
repair,  and  when  tattered,  they  were  early  thrown 
away.  One  of  the  brigandines  from  the  Riggs  Collec- 
tion is  mounted  with  metal  plates  damaskeened  and 
retains  both  its  shoulder  pieces  and  its  arms.  Another 
has  a  pair  of  arms,  but  these  belonged  to  a  different 
suit. 


52        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

As  a  rule,  the  earlier  Gothic  harnesses  had  not 
developed  flutings  or  even  prominent  ridges  at  the 
borders  of  the  plates.  The  later  suits  were  distin- 
guished as  having  heavy  ridges  at  the  upper  border 
of  the  breastplate  and  around  the  armpits.  This  was 
especially  true  in  the  Italian  harnesses  dating  be- 
tween 1450  and  1500.  These,  it  should  be  noted, 
have  ever  ranked  high  among  beautiful  suits  of 
armor;  they  were  simple  in  lines,  excellent  in  work- 
manship, and  admirably  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the 
wearer.  A  mounted  suit  in  a  museum  seems  ever  to 
have  within  it  a  living  manikin.  A  harness  of  this 
type  is  exhibited  (as  an  equestrian  figure,  E.  2)  on  the 
east  side  of  the  main  hall.  1 1  is  of  Milanese  workman- 
ship, perhaps  from  the  shops  of  the  Missaglia,  who 
then  ranked  throughout  Europe  among  the  greatest 
of  artist-armorers.  The  casque  is  no  longer  the  bowl- 
shaped  salade;  it  has  now  become  a  close-fitting 
helmet;  its  chin-pieces  are  hinged  from  the  side  and 
are  locked  together  by  a  pivot  at  the  point  of  the  chin. 
This  small  helmet,  or  armet,  had  at  its  base  a  collar  of 
chain-mail,  and  at  its  back  a  small  round  shield,  or 
rondelle,  on  a  mushroom-like  stalk.  This  has  given 
the  casque  its  name,  armet  a  rondelle,  a  type  which 
was  still  in  use  during  the  first  decades  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  as  in  the  Spanish  harness  in  Case  30. 
It  is  best  known  in  Italy  and  Spain;  in  Italy  it  is 
found  at  an  early  period,  as  early  perhaps  as  1440, 
for  Italy  was  then  highly  advanced  in  the  work  of  its 
armorers — in  some  cases,  indeed,  over  half  a  century 
ahead  of  the  fashions  in  northern  Europe.  This  armet 


PLAFH  XXIV 
MAXIMILIAN   ARMOR,   ABOUT  I5I5 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 
SEE   PAGE  60 


ARMOR — FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  53 

is  regarded  by  connoisseurs  as  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  early  head-pieces  (Case  20). 

It  may  be  remarked  that  helmets  of  this  type, 
together  with  salades  and  armor  generally  of  the 
same  period,  are  apt  to  be  beautifully  executed.  The 
inside  is  often  as  interesting  as  the  outside;  for  it  ex- 
hibits the  hammer  marks  deeply  sunken  in  the  metal, 
showing  with  what  skill  the  hard  metal  was  fashioned. 
Such  armor  often  bears  the  punch-marked  mono- 
gram, or  even  the  abbreviated  signature  of  the  artist 
who  made  it.  And  with  this  stamp  is  usually  a  key- 
shaped  ''proof  mark''  (Case  18)  to  certify  that  the 
object  has  been  given  an  oificial  test  of  strength. 
This  symbol  of  proof  if  repeated  would  signify  double 
or  triple  proof.  The  test,  it  appears,  took  place  at  the 
civic  headquarters  of  the  armorers'  guild  and  con- 
sisted in  striking  the  object  with  a  bolt  shot  from  a 
crossbow  of  standard  strength.  Sometimes  the  work 
would  be  tested  at  several  points,  as  in  the  small 
armet-a-rondelle  (Case  20)  made  by  Thomaso  de 
Missaglia  (about  1480),  which  bears  the  proof  mark 
in  no  less  than  four  different  places.  In  those  times 
the  value  of  an  object  was  so  directly  determined 
by  the  practical  test  that  nearly  all  plates  of  the  same 
harness  might  bear  the  proof  mark  (Case  25). 

Of  late  Gothic  harnesses  (i.  e.,  dating  from  1470- 
1490)  there  are  six  specimens  in  the  present  collec- 
tion. Four  of  them  appear  in  separate  cases  on  the 
east  side  of  the  large  gallery  between  the  columns. 
The  first  of  these  is  a  beautiful  harness,  lent  to  the 
Museum  by  Madame  Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant  (Case 


54        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

26).  It  was  one  of  the  objects  of  the  Spitzer  Collec- 
tion. In  this  harness,  which  dates  about  1470,  bold 
ridges  and  flutings  arranged  in  the  order  of  three 
appear  on  different  plates.  (Plate  XXI.)  Beyond  this 
(Cases  28  and  29)  are  two  Gothic  harnesses  from  the 
Riggs  Collection,  dating  from  a  period  relatively  late. 
In  this  type  of  armor  the  ornamental  flutings  become 
very  numerous,  and  are  always  radial  in  pattern. 
An  admirable  harness,  Italian,  dating  about  1490,  is 
exhibited  in  Case  27  next  to  the  Stuyvesant  suit. 
(Plate  XXII.)  It  is  of  florid  design  decorated  with 
many  flutings,  its  borders  are  closely  perforated  with 
trefoils,  and  its  elbow  plates  are  produced  as  delicate 
spines.  This  example,  with  its  beautifully  articulated 
backplate  and  gauntlets,  represents  the  supreme 
effort  of  a  Gothic  armorer  to  retain  the  effectiveness 
of  his  style.  The  work,  however,  had  already  become 
too  highly  "specialized,''  and  this  foreshadowed  a 
decline  in  the  art;  for  in  the  work  of  the  armorer  a 
principle  seems  to  hold  true  which  is  well  known  in 
the  evolution  of  animals:  it  is  that  high  specializa- 
tions, such  as  highly  modified  kinds  of  spines  or 
teeth,  lead  the  way  for  the  extinction  of  a  type.  Ac- 
cording to  this  principle,  a  new  form  would  shortly 
appear  which  would  supplant  the  old  and  be  again 
the  basis  for  another  line  of  development. 

B.     ARMS  OF  THE  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY 

Before  referring,  however,  to  the  armor  of  the 
next,  or  Maximilian  period,  we  may  briefly  review 
the  arms  of  the  fifteenth  century. 


PLATE  XXV 

ENGRAVED  AND  GILDED  ARMOR  FOR  MAN  AN 
HORSE,  MADE  FOR  GALIOT  DE  GENOUILHAC 
PROBABLY   BY   LOYS  MERVEILIES 
DATED  1527 

SEE  PAGES  16,  70 


ARMS^ — FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  55 

Knightly  swords  of  this  period  are  represented 
in  the  present  collection  (Case  i6  A)  by  two  splendid 
examples.  (Plate  XLIV.)  One  of  them  dates  from 
the  first  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  bears  a 
gilt  bronze  guard  and  pommel,  the  latter  representing 
in  enamels  the  arms  of  a  de  Gaucourt,  possibly  the 
one  who  figures  in  the  history  of  Joan  of  Arc.  Its 
blade  is  tapering  and  is  so  ground  that  its  section  is 
convex.  The  other  example  dates  from  the  second 
half  of  the  century.  This  specimen,  from  the  Riggs 
and  Meyrick  collections,  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  type. 
It  is  admirable  in  its  lines,  delicate  in  its  balance, 
and  could  be  swung  by  one  or  both  hands.  Such  a 
sword  may  well  have  been  used  by  an  English  knight 
in  the  battle  of  Tewkesbury. 

War  hammers,  bees  de  faueon,  were  in  frequent  ser- 
vice during  this  century.  Short  ones  are  shown  in 
Case  17,  and  one  which  had  a  long  shaft  is  important 
from  its  workmanship  and  Gothic  inscription.  Such 
an  arm  as  this  might  have  been  in  the  hands  of 
Jacques  de  Lalain,in  one  of  his  celebrated  pas  d'armes. 
With  these  are  exhibited  three  short  hatchets  which 
were  designed  to  be  thrown.  These,  by  the  way,  are 
among  the  rarest  of  Gothic  arms.  Several  crossbows 
of  this  period  are  also  shown.  One  of  them  bears 
inscriptions  and  a  blazon:  it  belonged  to  Count  Ulrich 
V  of  Wiirttemberg  and  has  been  described  by  Baron 
de  Cosson  in  Archaeologica,  vol.  53,  1873.  These 
early  crossbows  were  made  up  of  layers  of  whalebone, 
sinew,  and  sometimes  horn,  glued  and  bound  to- 
gether.  They  were  "set"  by  means  of  an  ingenious 


56        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

lever,  a  goat's  foot,"  pied  de  hide,  of  which  exam- 
ples appear  in  the  same  case. 

Pole-arms  of  this  period  are  shown  on  the  walls  and 
at  the  base  of  the  columns  on  the  east  side  of  the 
main  gallery.  Here  appear  selected  types:  hook- 
shaped  guisarmes,  flat-bladed  "ox-tongues,"  knife- 
shaped  glaives,  and  three-pronged  korsekes,  chauves- 
souris,  and  runkas.  In  the  series  here  exhibited  some 
of  the  arms  are  decorated  at  the  base  of  the  blade 
with  etching  and  gilding,  the  background  of  the 
etched  areas  ornamented  with  parallel  lines,  not  with 
dots  or  blank  areas  as  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Early 
halberds  are  present  in  interesting  variety  and  form 
a  progressive  series  arising  from  simpler  types  of  pole- 
axes  and  long  knife-bladed  herdiches  (near  Case  i). 

Shields  at  this  time  were  of  three  types:  fist  shields, 
arm  shields,  and  standing  shields.  The  first  of  these 
bears  a  boss  into  which  the  fist  projects,  grasping  a 
cross-bar.  These  shields  are  made  of  wood  or  metal 
and  are  sometimes  garnished  with  velvet.  The  fist 
shield  is,  by  the  way,  a  very  early  type:  its  use  was 
common  less  in  Europe  than  in  the  East  and  in 
northern  Africa — in  Tunis  it  is  used  at  the  present 
time  in  fencing  exercises.  The  arm  shield  of  the 
fifteenth  century  was  usually  broadly  triangular, 
sometimes  square,  generally  formed  of  wood  and 
covered  with  rawhide.  Standing  shields  were  wooden, 
sheathed  with  canvas  or  hide,  and  their  surface  was 
often  covered  with  gesso  and  painted.  In  the  pres- 
ent collection  hand  shields  appear  in  Cases  22,  23,  24, 
and  on  the  east  wall  of  the  main  gallery.    Two  arm 


PLATE  XXVI 

BRIGANDINES,   END  OF  XV  AND  MIDDLE  OF  XVI 
CENTURY.     RIGGS  COLLECTION 
AFTER  GAY 


SEE  PAGE  50 


ARMS  —  FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  57 

shields  are  shown  on  the  south  wall  of  the  main  gal- 
lery and  in  this  neighborhood  appear  several  standing 
shields.  The  last  were  often  part  of  the  equipment 
of  crossbowmen  who  sheltered  behind  them  when 
setting  their  pieces. 

Daggers  were  an  important  part  of  the  fifteenth- 
century  equipment,  and  of  them  there  are  four  typical 
forms.  One  of  these,  the  "kidney"  dagger,  had  a 
heavy  blade  and  a  stout  wooden  handle  out  of  which 
a  guard  was  carved  in  two  rounded  lobes,  which 
together  suggest  the  name  for  this  arm.  It  is  a  form 
which  appeared  already  in  the  fourteenth  century 
and  its  use  continued  for  over  a  hundred  years.  The 
earlier  daggers  of  this  kind  were  the  heaviest  and  the 
kidney-shaped  lobes  were  of  large  size;  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  this  type  the  lobes  become  smaller  and  smaller 
until  they  can  hardly  be  recognized.  The  second 
form  of  dagger  is  the  dague  a  rouelle.  In  this  the 
guard  and  pommel  are  shaped  like  disks  and  through 
their  centers  passes  the  blade.  The  disk-shaped 
guard  and  pommel  were  originally  thick,  shaped  like 
cylindrical  boxes,  which  in  the  development  of  this 
dagger  became  successively  larger  and  flatter  while 
the  blade  grew  narrower,  thicker,  and  longer.  Its 
use  extended  well  into  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
third  type,  the  "eared''  dagger,  was  distinctly  an 
Oriental  model,  the  hilt  of  which  ends  not  in  a  pom- 
mel but  in  a  pair  of  flattened  or  ear-shaped  lobes. 
This  dagger  is  frequently  known  as  the  stradiote 
from  its  use  by  the  estradiots,  semi-Greek  or  Levan- 
tine soldiers  in  Venetian  service.    It  is  first  known 


38       PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

in  the  fifteenth  century;  some  of  the  earliest  forms 
are  from  Spain,  and  are  probably  Hispano-Arab. 
They  are  of  beautiful  workmanship  and  are  rare  ob- 
jects in  collections.  (See  figure  in  Plate  XLVIII, 
which  shows  a  number  of  decorated  daggers.)  The 
fourth  type  is  the  so-called  "ox- tongue  dagger,"  which 
appeared  in  southern  Europe  during  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. It  had  a  short,  wide-grooved  blade  and  a  hilt 
flattened,  often  of  ivory,  usually  ornamented  by 
rosettes  of  pierced  work,  suggesting  filigree.  This 
broad  dagger  developed  a  short  "ox- tongue'*  sword, 
or  cinquedea,  a  name  derived  from  the  width  of  the 
blade  at  its  base  (five  finger-breadths).  (Plate 
XLIII.)  Cinquedeas  were  used  in  northern  Italy  at 
the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  and  during  thfe  early 
sixteenth  century.  They  were  sometimes  richly  gilded 
and  etched  with  Renaissance  borders  and  figures. 
Actual  specimens  are  rare  and  from  their  beautiful 
lines  and  decoration  have  an  especial  attraction  to 
collectors. 

The  foregoing  daggers  are  well  illustrated  in  the  Mu- 
seum collection.  "Kidney"  daggers  (Plate  XLVIII), 
dagues  a  rouelle,  and  stradiotes  are  shown  in  Case  16: 
"ox- tongue"  daggers  and  swords,  in  Case  20.  In  the 
middle  of  this  case  is  a  long,  narrow,  Venetian  cinque- 
dea.  Said  by  M.  de  Beaumont  to  have  been  worn  as 
the  formal  sword  of  the  Council  of  Ten.  On  the 
other  side  of  the  same  case  are  specimens  richly  gilded 
and  engraved.  Two  of  these  are  probably  from  the 
hand  of  the  greatest  artist  who  decorated  cinquedeas, 
Hercole  di  Fideli,  whose  work  has  been  described  in 


ARMOR  —  MAXIMILIAN    PERIOD  59 

late  years  by  the  French  archaeologist,  M.  Charles 
Buttin. 

C.     ARMOR  OF  THE  MAXIMILIAN  PERIOD 
(l  500-1  530) 

The  Austrian  Emperor,  Maximilian  I  (1493-15 19), 
is  said  to  have  suggested  numerous  changes  in  the 
knightly  panoply.  In  his  court,  Gothic armor  was 
replaced  by  harnesses  whose  surfaces  were  developed 
into  series  of  nearly  parallel  grooves.  By  this  device 
each  element  of  the  armor  was  thought  to  be  strength- 
ened and  at  the  same  time  given  new  beauty  in  play 
of  lights  and  shades.  In  the  earlier  style  points  and 
ridges  had  been  prominent;  in  the  newer  style  sur- 
faces became  rounded  or  globose,  and  terminals  were 
blunted  or  truncated.  Thus  casques  rounded  off  their 
sharp  median  ridges,  or  crests,  or  even  lost  them 
entirely;  the  breastplate  was  globose,  the  tassets 
wide,  truncated  below.  The  defenses  of  knees  and 
elbows  were  well  rounded,  and  the  sollerets,  which 
were  pointed  in  Gothic  harnesses,  now  became  exces- 
sively square-toed:  in  some  cases  their  terminal 
plates  measured  six  inches  in  width.  The  majority 
of  these  specimens  are  German,  although  the  fluted 
style  had  been  well  begun  by  Italian  armorers.  In 
general,  the  I  talian  forms  of  "  Maximilian  " armor  had 
the  fluting  formed  as  ridges  upon  a  flattish  back- 
ground; the  German  fluting  was  distinctly  grooved. 
This  style  of  workmanship  appears  in  German  armor 
until  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
specimens  dating  usually  from  1505  to  1525. 


6o       PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

The  present  collection  is  rich  in  Maximilian  armor. 
(Plates  XXIII  and  XXIV.)  It  exhibits  seven  com- 
plete harnesses  of  various  types,  dating  from  1500 
to  1540;  also  a  series  of  detached  fragments  and 
over  thirty  head-pieces.  The  earliest  suit  (Case  35) 
was  lent  in  1904,  by  Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  complete  harnesses  of  its  type.  Its 
primitive  features  include  a  subdivided  breastplate 
(of  which  the  lower  half  was  the  pansiere,  quite  in 
the  Gothic  fashion) ;  a  casque  in  which,  as  in  armets 
a  rondelle,  the  chin-piece  opens,  hinge  fashion,  at  the 
point  of  the  chin;  margins  of  the  plates  unorna- 
mented,  i.  e.,  without  the  "roping"  which  became 
characteristic  of  Maximilian  armor. 

Another  suit  of  great  interest  is  shown  in  Case  34. 
(Plate  XXIII.)  This  is  parade  harness  dating  about 
1520,  executed  with  fluting  and  engraving  in  the 
fashion  of  court  costume.  The  puffs,  slashes,  and  even 
the  texture  of  the  dress  are  pictured;  a  deep  skirt 
is  present  (braconniere  a  tonnelet),  and,  as  a  second 
rare  feature,  the  visor  is  carefully  modeled  from  a 
human  face,  probably  picturing  the  original  owner. 
A  similar  harness  is  preserved  in  the  Vienna  collec- 
tion and  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  Philip  I,  who 
died  in  1506.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
present  armor  was  designed  for  a  noble  of  high  rank: 
it  is  engraved  on  the  sides  of  the  visor  with  the  bri- 
quette, or  fire-stone  of  Burgundy,  which  had  then 
become  one  of  the  badges  of  the  Hapsburgs. 

Near  these  specimens  are  harnesses  illustrating 
various  Maximilian  types.    In  the  earliest  of  these, 


PLATE  XXVIII 
HALF-ARMOR  OF  THE  DUKE  OF  SESSA,  ABOUT  I  560 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 
SEE   PAGE  70 


t 


I 


ARMOR  —  MAXIMILIAN    PERIOD  6l 

the  fluting  occurs  sparingly  (Case  38)  and  the  head- 
piece suggests  a  Gothic  salade.  In  another  (Case  40), 
the  borders  of  various  plates  are  not  "roped/'  a 
feature  which,  with  its  large  "shells"  at  the  side  of 
elbow  and  knee,  recalls  the  Gothic  fashion.  In  still 
another  suit  (Case  37),  this  from  the  Riggs  Collec- 
tion, the  elbow  guards  are  like  wide  rings  and  were 
attached  to  the  upper  and  lower  arm  by  straps,  after 
.he  Gothic  fashion,  instead  of  being  riveted  to  inter- 
mediate elbow  plates.  Here,  too  (Case 40  A),  is  an  ad- 
mirable half-harness,  fluted  in  the  Italian  .style,  its 
bands  alternately  bright  or  gilded  and  etched.  There 
is  good  reason  to  believe  that  this  armor  was  worn  by 
Charles  de  Bourbon,  constable  of  France,  for  it  cor- 
responds to  parts  of  his  harness  which  are  preserved 
in  Vienna.  (Plate  XXVII.)  While  referring  to  the 
fluted,  gilded,  and  engraved  armor  of  Case  34,  we 
should  note  a  tonnelet,  or  skirt  of  Maximilian  armor, 
slashed,  engraved,  and  gilded,  which  hangs  nearby 
on  the  west  wall.  This  is  from  the  Tower  of  Lon- 
don and  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  a  harness  of 
Henry  VIII. 

The  Maximilian  head-pieces  of  the  collection 
(Cases  42  and  45)  form  an  interesting  developmental 
series.  The  earliest  of  these  (1500)  is  practically  a 
Gothic  salade,  but  modeled  more  closely  to  the  head; 
its  great  visor  extends  downward  and  is  slightly 
rounded  in  at  the  neck.  In  the  next  type  (i  505),  the 
chin  region  is  emancipated  from  the  visor  and  cov- 
ered by  a  separately  rotating  piece,  or  beaver.  In 
the  Gothic  harness,  on  the  other  hand,  this  element 


62        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

did  not  belong  to  the  head-piece,  but  was  a  separate 
reinforcing  plate  which  could  be  strapped  in  position 
over  the  chin.  In  these  early  Maximilian  armets  flut- 
ings  are  few  and  the  median  crest  is  angular.  Within 
a  few  years,  however  (15 10-15 15),  flutings  become 
numerous  and  the  median  crest  is  a  wide  ridge  de- 
veloped as  a  "roped"  border.  In  all  these  instances, 
the  neck-covering  portion  of  the  casque  is  made  up 
of  several  large  underlapping  pieces,  suggesting  the 
neck  cover  of  the  more  ancient  salade.  In  the  earlier 
head-pieces  the  Maximilian  visor  resembled  that 
either  of  a  basinet  or  an  armet  a  rondelle.  The  visors 
of  later  ones  became  "bellows-shaped,"  i.  e.,  moulded 
in  transverse  flutings,  three  at  first,  later  four,  five, 
or  even  six.  In  some  instances  (15 15-1540),  the 
visor  is  modeled,  as  we  have  already  noted  (Cases 
34,  44),  as  a  human  face. 

The  great  armorers  of  this  time  were  Koloman 
Helmschmidt  of  Augsburg  (who  made  the  engraved 
and  fluted  arm  and  gauntlet  in  Case  41),  Lorenz 
Helmschmidt  (whose  mark  appears  on  the  harness 
in  Case  33),  Matthaus  Frauenpreis  the  elder,  Con- 
rad Seusenhofer,  Valentin  Siebenburger  of  Nurem- 
berg, and  various  members  of  the  family  Treyts  of 
Innsbruck  (of  the  work  of  several  of  these  artists  we 
have  examples  in  the  series  of  helmets),  and  Wilhelm 
of  Worms,  the  elder  (who  made  the  harness  in  Case 
40). 

During  the  Maximilian  period,  the  equipment 
for  the  horse  {barding)  was  complete  (see  E.  4,  in 
main  gallery,  and  the  later  harness,  Plate  LI  1 1). 


PLATE  XXIX 

HALF-ARMOR  MADE  BY  POMPEO  DELLA  CHIESA,  ABOUT 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 
SEE   PAGE  70 


JOUSTING   ARMOR  63 

Its  head  was  protected  by  a  frontal  (chamfron),  its 
neck  by  crinets  (criniere),  its  breast  by  a  heavy  apron- 
Hke  element  (peytrel,  or  poitrel),  and  its  rump  by  a 
massive  plate  (croupiere)  which  flared  down  on  either 
side  as  far  as  the  hock.  And  by  this  time,  i.  e.,  the 
earliest  decades  of  the  sixteenth  century,  large  num- 
bers of  barded  horses  appea;red  in  actual  use.  In 
the  fifteenth  century,  on  the  contrary,  horse  equip- 
ments were  rare,  though  when  they  did  occur,  they 
were  complete  and  beautifully  modeled.  Sometimes 
they  included  even  leg  armoring,  as  one  may  see 
from  fragmentary  specimens,  as  in  the  museum  of 
the  Porte  de  Hal  in  Brussels,  or  from  contemporary 
pictures,  as  of  the  splendid  equipment  of  the  mounted 
armorer  in  the  museum  in  Vienna. 

D.    JOUSTING  ARMOR 

It  may  be  safely  inferred  that  the  development  of 
armor,  whether  for  man  or  horse,  was  influenced  by 
the  widespread  fashion  of  tourneying  and  jousting, 
for  in  these  military  sports  various  defenses  were 
needed  which  would  not  be  worn  in  actual  service  in 
war.  In  the  end,  accordingly,  panoplies  came  to  be 
designed  solely  for  jousting.  The  evolution  of  this 
special  kind  of  armor,  it  is  found,  extended  over 
considerable  time.  Thus,  during  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  it  is  known  that  knights  fought 
in  the  same  armor  they  would  have  used  in  battle, 
the  display  being  merely  a  mimic  battle  where  ad- 
versaries fought  in  parties  (tourneys)  or  in  pairs 
(jousts).    (Plate  XV.)     By  the  fifteenth  century. 


64        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

however,  the  rules  of  these  games  had  become  more 
definite.    Participants  were  armed  in  a  particular 
manner,  as  in  heavier  and  more  complete  harnesses, 
and  with  special  weapons.  And  by  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, as  we  know  from  various  tournament  books, 
such  as  Freydal,  or  those  of  the  Dresden  court,  or  of 
Duke  Wilhelm  IV  of  Bavaria,  or  in  Maximilian's 
Triumph,  the  trappings  had  become  highly  diversified 
and  eccentric.    For  there  then  arose  numerous  kinds 
of  combats  in  which  the  participants  fought  on  horse- 
back or  afoot .  Of  equestrian  combats  a  common  form 
was  the  ''Deutsches  Stechen,"  in  which  the  course 
was  more  or  less  open  (see  equestrian  armor  E.  i  in 
main  gallery,  also  armor  in  Case  57).   Another  form 
was  "Sharfrennen,"  a  course  run  without  barriers, 
the  contestants  having  huge  thigh  guards  attached 
to  the  saddles  to  prevent  accidents  from  collision. 
Still  another  form  was  the  Italian  course  (ueber  die 
Pallia),  where  the  contestants  were  fully  armed,  but 
were  nevertheless  separated  from  one  another  by 
barriers  (see  armor  on  equestrian  figure  E.  5,  in 
Case  51,  and  "Real  Gestech"  cape,  Case  59),  and  a 
specialized   variety  of   this  was   the  "Welsches 
Gestech"  (see  parts  of  armor  in  Case  58).   In  Maxi- 
milian's Triumph,  groups  of  knights  are  pictured 
armed  for  no  less  than  eleven  kinds  of  courses.  Now 
since  each  type  of  Gestech,or  ''running,"  brought  into 
play  special  defenses,  it  came  about  that  by  1550  each 
suit  of  armor  was  apt  to  be  provided  with  numerous 
supplemental  or  reinforcing  pieces.    As  many  as  a 
hundred  "pieces  of  change"  were  sometimes  provided 


PLATE  XXX 
PARADE  ARMOR,   ABOUT   I  59O 
STUYVESANT  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  70 


JOUSTING    ARMOR  65 

for  a  prince's  armor.  (Compare  armor  shown  in  Cases 
88  and  89.)  Thus,  for  combat  afoot  in  the  lists  the 
armor  should  protect  the  wearer  both  back  and  front, 
guarding  thigh,  groin,  inner  side  of  elbow,  and  arm- 
pit. And  these  defenses  were  the  more  necessary 
since  the  combatants  developed  a  form  of  jiu-jitsu,  in 
the  gyrations  of  which  various  points  of  the  body,  if 
unarmored,  were  dangerously  exposed.  For  numer- 
ous forms  of  mounted  combats  defenses  of  different 
fashions  would  of  course  be  selected. 

In  a  word,  in  earlier  days  the  jousters  rode  in  com- 
plete armor,  bore  a  shield  on  the  left  arm  and  a  lance 
held  freely  in  the  right  hand.  But  in  the  sixteenth 
century  the  combatants  were  usually  separated  from 
one  another  by  a  barrier  which  in  the  end  became  so 
high  that  hardly  more  than  their  heads  were  exposed. 
During  this  development  armor  sometimes  was  given 
great  strength;  a  harness  designed  for  protecting  only 
the  upper  part  of  the  body  might  weigh  a  hundred 
pounds,  of  which  weight  a  third  belonged  to  the  great 
tilting  helm.  This  from  its  great  weight  had  to  be  se- 
curely fastened,  hence  it  came  to  be  bolted  to  the 
cuirass.  With  such  a  harness,  a  special  shield  was 
laced  in  position,  and  a  lance,  sometimes  four  inches 
in  diameter,  was  practically  locked  into  place  by  rests 
attached  one  in  front  of  the  breastplate  and  one  be- 
hind the  shoulder.  As  a  type  of  this  specialized  de- 
fense, we  note  again  the  equestrian  figure  (£.  /)  shown 
near  the  front  of  the  main  gallery.  Here  it  will  be 
noticed  that  armor  for  the  legs  of  the  rider  has  been 
entirely  discarded.    In  such  instances,  the  armored 


66        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

saddle,  which  was  pulpit-like  at  an  earlier  date,  had 
become  reduced  to  a  mere  pad  from  which  the  rider 
slid  off  the  back  of  his  charger  when  struck  fairly  by 
the  lance  of  his  adversary.  Under  this  condition  his 
fall  was  not  a  very  serious  affair,  but  had  he  been  im- 
prisoned in  an  iron  saddle  his  back  would  probably 
have  been  broken.  Interesting  supplemental  pieces 
for  tilting,  with  helms  and  shields,  rondellesof  lances, 
are  exhibited  in  Cases  56-59  and  74.  (See  also  several 
pieces  of  armor  in  Plate  XXXVII.)  In  the  series  of 
tilting  helms  in  Cases  56  and  59,  there  are  half  a  dozen 
which  deserve  careful  examination.  One  of  these  espe- 
cially. Case  59,  belonged  to  Sir  Giles  Capel  and  was 
hung  over  his  tomb  until  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  Sir  Giles  was  a  well-known  champion  in  his 
day:  he  fought  in  France  with  Henry  VIII  and  was 
present  on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold.  The  pres- 
ent head-piece  was  prepared  for  combat  afoot  in  the 
lists  and  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind.  One  notes  its 
numerous  openings  for  breathing:  they  were  the 
more  necessary  since  the  wearer  in  the  exertion  of 
wielding  sword  or  axe,  breathed  ''hard"  and  rapidly, 
and,  without  suitable  apertures  for  ventilation,  would 
have  run  the  risk  of  becoming  suffocated.  It  may 
be  mentioned  that  accidents  due  to  this  cause  are 
occasionally  recorded. 

Tilting  lances  are  also  shown  in  Cases  56  to  59,  as 
well  as  on  the  south  wall  of  the  long  gallery.  In  some 
of  these,  the  shaft,  although  apparently  heavy,  was 
carved  in  grooves  in  such  a  way  that  the  lance  could 
readily  be  shattered  on  a  wide  shoulder  piece  or 


REl 

CO 
1 

O 

00 

? 

cC 

< 
1 

e- 

w 

Q 

EC 

X 

H 

W 

J 

CO 

H 

o 

< 

< 

O 

> 

Q 

u 

J 
-J 

SE 

2 

:d 

< 

UJ 

O 

Z 

O 

D 

< 

O 

O 

UJ 

H 

i 

2 

NT 

ME 

w 

UJ 

O 

Q 

Q 

a, 

Z 

H 

< 

CU 

UJ 

CQ 

HIL 

a! 

LU 

o 

UJ 

a, 

D 

a 

LU 

< 

u 

ARMS — EARLY SIXTEENTHCENTURY  67 

manteau  d'armes,  especially  provided  with  ridges 
(see  Case  59).  It  was  a  broken  lance  of  this  type, 
doubtless,  which  caused  the  death  of  Henry  II  (1559) 
when  a  splinter  entered  his  eye.  Carrousel  lances 
were  the  latest  and  most  degenerate  form  of  these 
arms.  In  these  the  base  of  the  shaft  is  ornamented 
with  fragile  fretwork  and  the  point  is  no  longer  a 
weapon,  but  an  implement  for  catching  a  ring. 

E.    THE  ARMS  OF  THE  EARLY  DECADES  OF  THE 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

The  swords  of  these  decades  are  either  modifica- 
tions of  the  earlier  Gothic  forms  or  special  types 
newly  developed  (Case  46).  In  the  former  class 
the  pommels  are  apt  to  become  pear-shaped,  lose 
their  strictly  bilateral  symmetry,  and  develop  rop- 
ing'' in  their  decoration.  The  quillon's  either  droop 
more  sharply  or  are  curved  S-shaped,  usually  at 
right  angles  to  the  blade.  (See  second  figure,  Plate 
XLIV.)  In  many  swords  dating  from  the  early  six- 
teenth century  the  guard  develops  a  ring  (anneau) 
at  the  side,  and  in  some  instances,  of  slightly  later 
date,  a  pair  of  rings  {pas  d'ane)  at  the  side  of  the 
blade  in  front  of  the  quillons,  as  grips  for  the  first 
and  second  fingers.  Of  the  newer  types,  we  note 
a  German  sword,  whose  decoration  on  hilt  and 
blade  is  elaborately  etched  after  designs  by  Albrecht 
Diirer  (?).    There  is  also  a  Venetian  sword  ^  of  first 

1  It  might  be  mentioned  as  an  amusing  test  of  the  interest  and  beauty 
of  this  sword  that  the  distinguished  expert,  M.  de  Beaumont,  would 
rarely  fail  to  take  it  in  his  hands  and  kiss  it  when  he  visited  Mr.  Riggs's 
gallery. 

/ 


68        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

rank,  its  hilt  elaborately  etched,  showing  traces  of 
gilding.  In  its  decoration,  it  suggests  the  famous 
''casque  of  Boabdil''  in  the  museum  in  Madrid. 
(Plate  XL!  V,  and  pommel  in  Plate  XLV.)  Near  this 
sword  is  an  historical  blade,  bearing  the  inscription 
Leo  X,  Pont.  Max.  III.  This  is  one  of  the  earliest 
of  its  type  extant.  Papal  swords,  it  may  be  noted, 
were  presented  to  sovereigns  and  distinguished  gen- 
erals, commemorating  services  for  the  Roman  faith. 
There  are  recorded  about  thirty  swords  of  this  type, 
of  which  all  but  two  are  in  the  possession  of  European 
governments.  Another  interesting  sword  exhibited 
in  the  same  case  is  a  state  sword  which  belonged  to 
the  family  of  the  doges  Mocenigo. 

From  the  early  decades  of  this  century  date  a  num- 
ber of  the  maces  and  war-hammers  shown  in  Case  48. 
(Plate  XLVII.)  The  maces  of  earlier  date  have 
handles  which  suggest  daggers  a  rouelle,and  heads  of 
small  size,  their  plates  sometimes  inset  with  strips 
of  brass  in  the  fashion  of  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury. The  maces  of  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury are  sometimes  richly  decorated  with  foliation 
and  strapwork,  chiseled  or  etched.  One  of  the  im- 
portant maces  in  the  series  is  of  this  period  and  bears 
the  badge  of  Austria  (Case  48):  another,  richly 
damaskeened,  is  believed  to  have  belonged  to  Henry 
II  of  France  (Case  102).  The  later  maces  have 
large  heads,  egg-shaped,  and  the  handle  is  hardly 
to  be  distinguished  from  the  shaft.  In  Case  48  are 
also  shown  numerous  examples  of  war-hammers  and 
hatchets,  in  some  of  which  (brandestoc)  a  blade  is 


PLATE  XXXII 

HARNESS,   BLACKENED  AND  ENGRAVED,  ABOUT    1 6oO 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE  PAGE  94 


ARMOR  —  SIXTEENTH    CENTURY  69 

concealed  in  the  handle.  Many  of  the  present  speci- 
mens are  decorated  with  etching  and  gilding.  In  rare 
instances,  wheellock  pistols  are  fashioned  in  combina- 
tion with  hammers  and  war  hatchets.  Military  flails 
are  also  shown  in  this  case.  Earlier  types  of  these 
arms  appear  in  a  wall  panoply  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  large  gallery. 

Pole-arms  of  the  early  sixteenth  century,  in- 
cluding many  historical  pieces,  are  attached  to  the 
columns  on  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  main 
gallery  and  to  the  west  wall.  Halberds  are  usually 
wide-bladed,  with  stout,  moderately  short  tips,  quad- 
rangular in  section  (see  the  later  ''Gothic''  halberds 
on  the  east  wall  of  the  main  gallery).  In  Mediter- 
ranean countries,  pole-arms  were  often  trident- 
shaped  (see  also  the  series  at  the  left  of  the  Gothic 
tapestry  on  the  east  wall  of  the  main  gallery).  A 
number  of  these  arms  retain  their  original  shafts: 
these  are  sometimes  carved,  sometimes  studded  with 
gilt-headed  nails  and  encased  with  velvet.  In  the 
present  collection  the  series  of  these  types  is  excep- 
tionally complete. 

F.     ARMOR  OF  THE   MIDDLE   AND  LATE 
SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

After  the  Maximilian  period,  armor  began  a  series 
of  changes  in  form  and  decoration  which  led  ever  in 
the  direction  of  decadence  (especially  see  Cases  49- 
51,  75-81,  99-100,  104-105).  The  plates  lost  their 
strengthening  ridges  and  were  of  poorer  metal,  work- 
manship, and  form.  And  they  continually  increased 


70        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

in  weight  as  fire-arms  became  more  effective.  The 
ornamentation  of  armor  was  now  expressed  less  in 
the  development  of  the  form  and  ridging  of  the  plates 
than  in  superficial  traceries,  etched,  stamped,  or 
gilded.  Where  the  surface  of  plates  became  em- 
bossed, as  in  the  richest  type  of  sixteenth-century 
armor,  the  raised  ornaments  tended  to  weaken  the 
armor.  In  short,  in  all  this  decoration,  it  was  the 
goldsmith  who  worked  rather  than  the  armorer. 
(Compare  Plates  XXV  and  XXVI I  to  XXIX.) 

The  general  changes  which  appear  during  the 
middle  and  later  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  are 
especially  well  shown  in  the  harnesses  of  Cases  75 
and  79.  The  helmet  was  provided  with  a  sharp,  keel- 
like crest,  and  the  visor,  instead  of  being  in  a  single 
piece,  was  now  formed  of  upper  and  lower  moities, 
the  upper  one  (visor,  or  visiere)  pierced  with  the  slits 
for  vision,  the  lower  {ventaiT)  perforated  with  breath- 
ing holes.  The  neck  region  of  the  helmet  was  pro- 
vided with  one  or  more  overlapping  collar-shaped 
plates,  alike  in  the  front  and  on  the  back.  (See 
Cases  75,  79,  and  108.)  The  breastplate,  which  was 
well  rounded  in  the  Maximilian  period,  now  became 
elongated  and  sharply  ridged,  developing  a  point 
(tapul)  either  in  the  middle  of  the  plate  or  near  the 
waist-line  (Cases  61,  67,  93,  98).  In  later  forms  the 
shape  is  punchinello-like  (Cases  94  and  104).  (Plate 
XXX.)  With  these  changes  the  tassets  tend  to  become 
wider  and  shorter.  The  leg  defenses  lose  the  graceful 
lines  of  fifteenth-century  armor:  but,  to  compensate 
for  the  lack  of  skilful  modeling,  the  ankle  region 


PLATE  XXXIII 
BURGANETS  AND  CLOSED  HELMETS 
XVI   AND  EARLY  XVII  CENTURY 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  71 


ARMOR  —  SIXTEENTH    CENTURY  7I 

acquires  a  series  of  flexible  joints.  In  the  armor 
of  the  feet,  the  truncated  sollerets  (sabbatons)  of 
a  Maximilian  suit  become  roundly  ended  toes.  In 
the  latter  part  of  the  century,  a  tendency  is  pres- 
ent for  leg  armor  to  be  discarded  even  in  the  better 
suits. 

During  this  period,  head-pieces  were  of  many  types. 
(Plates  XXXI  to  XXXV.)  The  closed  helmet  was 
for  heavier  service.  The  burganet  was  a  lighter  head- 
piece, close-fitting,  with  articulating  plates  covering 
ears  and  chin  (Cases  107,  109).  The  morion  and 
cabasset  were  hat-shaped  head-pieces  with  crescentic 
or  flat  brims  respectively,  provided  with  "ear  tabs," 
strengthened  by  metal  plates  (Cases  103,  112,  and 
113).  These  were  for  lightest  service.  In  the 
burganet  the  face  was  sometimes  protected  with  a 
visor,  or  buffe,  which  locked  in  position  over  face 
and  chin,  but  could  readily  be  detached.  (Cases  60 
and  109.) 

A  number  of  head-pieces  here  exhibited  are  of 
historical  interest.  Thus,  there  are  head-pieces 
which  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  belonged  to 
Henry  II  of  France  (Cases  98  A,  103),  to  Charles  IX 
(Case  109),  to  Marquis  de  la  Tremouille  (Case 
75  A),  to  Louis  XIII  (Case  107),  to  various  members 
of  the  house  of  Savoy  (Cases  109,  no),  and  to  state 
guards  of  several  Saxon  electors  (Case  iii),  of 
Cosimo  de'  Medici  (Case  107),  of  Pope  Julius  III 
(Case  1 10). 

The  harnesses  of  this  period  are  well  illustrated  in 
the  large  north  gallery.   Here  are  suits  of  decorated 


72        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

armor,  dating  from  1540  to  about  1600.  They  show 
the  various  forms  of  etching,  punched  work,  gilding, 
and  embossing.  They  illustrate  as  well  the  different 
types  of  helmets,  breastplates  (Plate  XXXVI), 
gauntlets  (Plates  XXXVI II-XXXIX), and  leg  armor- 
ing. Among  the  historical  suits  are  the  embossed 
half-armor  of  the  Duke  of  Alva  (Case  104  and  Plate 
XXVII),  an  engraved  and  gilded  half-armor  of  one 
of  the  de'  Medici  (Case  100),  two  suits  of  Sir  James 
Scudamore  (Cases  94  and  95),  the  equestrian  harness 
of  a  Colonna,  probably  Marcus  Antonius  Colonna 
(central  figure,  E.  p,  in  north  gallery),  the  complete 
harness  with  chamfron  and  supplemental  head-piece 
of  a  Duke  of  Lorraine  (Case  75),  a  half-armor  of  the 
guard  of  Duke  Julius  of  Brunswick  (Case  92),  and 
parts  of  the  sumptuously  embossed  armor  of  a  Gover- 
nor of  Milan,  the  Duke  of  Sessa  (Case  84).  In  the 
same  gallery  is  a  fairly  complete  series  of  the  pole- 
arms  of  this  period,  many  of  which  are  engraved  and 
gilded  (Cases  69  and  70).  A  large  number  of  the 
round  shields  [rondache)  for  parade,  engraved,  gilded, 
embossed,  are  shown  here  also.  (Plate  XLI.)  In 
this  series  the  Museum  is  particularly  rich,  exhibit- 
ing upward  of  sixty  specimens.  Among  the  artist- 
armorers  whose  work  is  here  illustrated  may  be 
mentioned  Pompeo  della  Chiesa  (Case  99),  Pfeffen- 
hauser  (102),  Wolf  of  Landshut  (59,  89,  102),  Pic- 
cinino  (84,  loi),  various  members  of  the  family  Ne- 
groli  (107),  Colman  (88),  Frauenpreis  (loi),  Seusen- 
hofer  (76),  Siebenburger  (60),  Wilhelm  von  Worms 
(59  and  83),  Jacobe  (94,  95,  102),  Spaccini  (loi),  von 


PLATE  XXXIV 
BURGANET  OF  HENRY  II,   ABOUT   I  5  50 
DE   DINO  COLLECTION 
SEE  PAGE  71 


SWORDS    AND    DAGGERS  73 

Speyer  (80),  Bartolomeo  Campi  (one  shoulder  de- 
fense, 104),  and  Hopfer  (59). 

G.  SWORDS  AND  DAGGERS  OF  THE  SECOND  HALF  OF 
THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY 

This  was  an  epoch  of  enriched  side-arms.  Sword 
and  dagger  were  worn  constantly,  and,  at  a  time 
when  fleets  from  India  and  America  were  emptying 
their  treasures  into  the  markets  of  Europe,  beauti- 
fully decorated  arms  were  seen  everywhere.  (Plates 
XLII-XLIV,  XLVIII,  XLIX.) 

In  Italy  the  short,  wide-bladed  cinquedea  (Plate 
XLI II)  reached  its  highest  point  of  development  dur- 
ing the  first  two  decades  of  the  sixteenth  century;  its 
blade  was  richly  etched,  gilded,  and  blued  (Case  20) ; 
and  its  sheath  was  an  admirable  example  of  the  art 
of  the  worker  in  leather.  At  this  time  and  slightly 
later  there  was  often  worn  a  cutlass  of  a  richly  orna- 
mented form,  suggesting  Venetian  galleys  and  the 
Orient:  its  blade  was  ground  in  small  parallel  grooves 
or  in  close-set  elliptical  areas,  and  its  hilt  was  mas- 
sive, ornate,  usually  of  gilt-bronze,  with  asymmetrical 
guard  and  pommel  (Case  20).  Then,  too,  arising 
partly  from  newer  dealings  with  all  parts  of  the  world, 
there  appeared  a  great  variety  in  swords  and  their 
furnishings:  the  commonest  type  was  the  rapier,  with 
blade  long  and  slender,  and  hilt  developed  in  a  basket- 
work  of  delicate,  overlapping,  or  interlacing  bands 
(Cases  55,  61,  90,  and  91).  These  arose  from  and 
around  the  anneaux  and  pas  d'ane  of  the  earlier 
sword  (p.  67),  and  soon  became  a  means  of  decoration, 


74        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

for  they  twisted  gracefully  about  the  hand,  swept 
along  (hence  the  name*' swept-hilted")  over  the  knuck- 
les, and  focused  near  the  pommel.  Rapiers  at  this 
period  were  objects  of  rich  adornment;  their  hilts 
were  incrusted  with  gold  and  silver,  inset  with  medal- 
lions and  enamels  chiseled  in  fme  relief.  (Plate  XLII .) 
Of  these,  we  have  numerous  examples  in  our  collec- 
tion (Cases  90  and  91).  Some  are  of  historical  in- 
terest. One  bears  the  arms  of  the  Albani,  and  is 
believed  to  have  been  in  the  possession  of  Pope 
Sixtus  V.  A  rapier  mounted  as  a  cane  may  have  be- 
longed to  Juan  Jose  of  Austria.  In  some  of  these  ex- 
amples the  blades  are  of  greater  interest  and^more 
precious  than  the  elaborate  hilts;  for  this  was  the 
time  when  Toledo  and  Milan  were  producing  their 
best  steel,  and  when  such  great  swordsmiths  worked 
as  the  elder  Sahagun  (Case  91),  Sebastian  Hernandez 
(82),  and  Juan  Martinez  (61),  all  of  whom  made 
swords  for  the  court  of  Spain,  also  Serafmo  di  Brescia, 
who  was  a  friend  of  Francis  I,  Sebastian  Ruiz  (82), 
who  was  called  to  the  Austrian  court,  Lucio  Piccinino 
(82),  who  executed  swords  for  Charles  V  and  Ales- 
sandro  Farnese,  and  the  other  Milanese  artist,  Pietro 
Caino  (55),  artists  so  famous  that  their  names  and 
marks  were  copied  fraudulently  in  many  cities  of 
Europe  during  and  ever  since  their  day. 

Highly  decorated  belts  and  hangers  (Case  91) 
were  provided  for  these  swords :  some  were  of  damask, 
elaborately  embroidered;  some  were  of  velvet;  others, 
of  tooled  leather  with  buckles  chased  and  damas- 
keened.   (Case  126.) 


PLATE  XXXV 

BURGANETS,  MORIONS,  AND  CABASSETS,  XVI  CENTURY 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 
SEE  PAGE  71 


POLE-ARMS  75 

Daggers  were  designed  to  accompany  the  swords, 
their  pommels  and  guards  corresponding  in  form  and 
decoration  (Cases  55,  90,  and  91):  most  of  them  are 
small,  with  delicate  blades,  the  latter  in  some  cases 
ground  in  parallel,  deep,  long  grooves,  in  which  were 
lines  of  fme  perforations.  These,  it  is  said,  were  ar- 
ranged to  carry  poison;  for  such  a  blade  once  wiped 
with  a  poisoned  cloth  could  still  be  cleaned,  yet  leave 
in  the  fme  pores  enough  poison  to  make  even  a  slight 
wound  fatal.  The  evidence  is  vague  that  these 
daggers  were  really  used  in  this  way,  but  the  story  is 
interesting,  suggesting  the  times  of  Cesare  Borgia. 

A  beautiful  type  of  dagger,  which  by  the  way  has 
ever  found  favor  with  amateurs,  was  developed  from 
the  ancient  Swiss  short-sword.  This  arose  naturally 
during  a  time  when  war  had  become  a  trade  and  when 
Swiss  mercenaries  were  renowned  throughout  Eu- 
rope for  their  valor  and  fidehty;  for  their  pay  en- 
abled them  to  gratify  a  fantastic  taste  in  arms  and 
costume.  Especially'  their  dagger-sheath  became  a 
splendid  affair:  it  was  usually  in  bronze,  gilded  and 
perforated  (Case  66),  in  some  instances  after  de- 
signs by  well-known  artists,  e.  g.,  the  younger  Hol- 
bein. Its  favorite  theme  was  the  ''dance  of  death." 
(Plate  XLIX.) 

H.  POLE-ARMS 

Pole-arms  were  in  constant  use  during  the  six- 
teenth century;  they  appear  in  the  field,  in  court,  in 
processions,  among  civic  officers,  sometimes  in  ornate 
design,  occasionally  enriched  luxuriously.  Even  the 
simple  forms  were  often  ornamented  to  some  degree, 


76        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

if  only  with  pierced  work  or  in  the  curves  or  prongs  of 
their  outHne.  In  the  next  higher  type,  they  would  be 
ornamented  by  etching  more  or  less  complicated  in 
design.  In  a  still  higher  grade,  the  etched  pattern 
would  be  picked  out  with  gold  or  in  some  examples 
the  entire  surface  would  be  gilded,  either  by  dam- 
askeen, or  as  'Tire-gilt"  from  a  mercury  amalgam.  In 
the  most  elaborate  forms  the  decoration  appeared 
as  etching,  gilding,  bluing,  and  incrusting  with  metals 
of  various  colors,  including  of  course  silver  and  gold. 
Various  forms  of  halberds  in  which  the  better  types 
of  enrichment  are  shown  are  exhibited  in  Cases  69 
and  70.  Here  one  sees,  for  example,  late  types  in 
which  the  decoration  by  silhouetting  is  carried  to  a 
high  degree  of  refinement.  In  such  instances  the 
blade  sometimes  bears  at  its  base  a  melon-shaped 
rosette  formed  of  separately  welded  pieces,  which  is 
of  great  ornamental  value,  since  it  shows  its  perfora- 
tions from  all  points  of  view.  In  the  present  collec- 
tion, there  is  an  important  series  of  fauchards,  the 
heads  of  which  are  shaped  like  knives,  but  furnished 
with  ornate  prongs  on  the  back  of  the  blade.  One  of 
these  fauchards — early  seventeenth  century,  however 
— which  belonged  to  the  state  guard  of  the  Borghese 
who  became  Pope  Paul  V,  exhibits  every  process 
of  ornamentation — silhouetting,  engraving,  gilding, 
damaskeening,  punched  work,  bluing,  and  incrusta- 
tion with  metals  of  various  colors.  (Plate  XLVI.) 
This  incrusted  work,  by  the  way,  is  a  variety  of  dam- 
askeening; in  the  latter  process,  the  surface  of  the 
metal  was  first  scratched  with  a  sharp  instrument,  like 


PLATE  XXXVI 
BREASTPLATES,   XVI  AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  72 


POLE-ARMS  77 

a  graver,  and  upon  this  "hatching,"  which  formed 
''burr "-edges,  precious  metals  were  attached  in 
lines  or  surfaces  by  hammers  and  burnishers.  In  the 
incrusted  work,  on  the  other  hand,  the  actual  design 
was  at  once  chiseled  into  the  metal,  and  into  this 
special  grooving  the  various  metals  were  hammered. 
In  damaskeening,  the  traceries  were  practically 
flush  with  the  surface  of  the  metal :  in  incrusted  work 
the  pattern  usually  stood  well  above  the  level  of  the 
plate. 

The  shafts  of  halberds  vary  in  accordance  with 
the  importance  of  the  object.  They  were  undec- 
orated  in  the  simpler  arms;  they  were  finished  with 
banks  or  rows  of  brass-headed  nails  in  arms  of  higher 
grade;  in  other  instances  they  were  covered  with 
velvet  and  adorned  with  beautifully  woven  tassels 
of  silk.  Carved  shafts  are  rare  except  in  such  hunt- 
ing arms  as  boar  spears.  Extremely  rare  is  the 
delicately  carved  handle  of  a  north  Italian  halberd, 
probably  Florentine,  shown  in  Case  69. 

During  later  times  pole-arms  suffered  from  the 
same  decadence  as  defensive  armor,  although  num- 
bers of  halberds  decorated  with  etching  and  gilding 
were  produced  in  Austria  and  Saxony  during  the 
first  half  of  the  seventeenth  century  (note  specimens 
arranged  on  columns  near  the  north  end  of  the  main 
gallery;  see  also  middle  figure  in  Plate  XLVI). 
But  even  in  those  we  find  decadent  changes.  The 
last  forms  of  halberds  were  the  spontoons  which  were 
carried  by  non-commissioned  officers  during  the 
eighteenth  century.  These  were  usually  simple  afi"airs 


78        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

with  small  heads  decorated  only  sparingly.  They  are 
represented  in  the  present  collection  by  a  numerous 
series  (arranged  on  two  racks  against  the  north  wall 
of  the  main  gallery),  which  is  the  more  remarkable 
since  nearly  every  specimen  is  richly  engraved  and 
gilded. 

I.    BOWS,  ARROWS,  AND  CROSSBOWS 

Bows  and  arrows  were  among  the  earliest  and 
commonest  arms,  yet  early  specimens  of  them  are 
rarely  seen  in  collections.  As  objects  of  art  they 
held  but  low  rank,  and  they  rarely  outlived  their  use- 
fulness. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  not  a  single  specimen  of 
the  early  English  longbow,  which  in  the  fourteenth 
century  was  probably  the  most  famous  offensive  arm 
in  Europe,  appears  to  have  survived,  though  a  num- 
ber of  bowstaves,  dating  from  1545,  were  obtained 
when  the  wreck  of  the  Mary  Rose  was  recovered  off 
Spithead.  The  only  bow  which  may  prove  to  be 
English  and  earlier  than  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  is  said  to  be  preserved  in  the  castle  of  Dover. 

In  the  present  collection,  there  is  but  one  European 
longbow  (Case  106),  and  it  is  relatively  late — not 
older  than  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  76  inches 
in  length,  well  modeled,  and  of  great  strength;  it  was 
made  in  Lausanne  and  bears  the  name  of  its  maker 
stamped  in  the  wood  near  the  velvet  grip.  Complete 
''cloth-yard''  arrows,  dating  earlier  than  the  seven- 
teenth century,  appear  to  be  unknown.  Of  extreme 
rarity  are  early  ''bracers,"  which  were  strapped  to 


PLATE  XXXVII 
PIECES  OF  ARMOR,   XVI  CENTURY 
MAINLY  RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  66 


BOWS,    ARROWS,    AND   CROSSBOWS  79 

the  archer's  forearm  to  prevent  injury  from  the  bow- 
string when  it  was  released.  No  less  than  nine  of 
these  arm-defenses  are  exhibited  in  Case  io6,  and  as 
a  series  they  are  probably  unique.  They  date  from 
the  sixteenth  to  the  early  eighteqnth  century,  and  all 
are  of  ivory.  Five  of  them  are  elaborately  incised, 
showing  coats  of  arms  and  figures  of  Saint  Sebastian, 
the  patron  saint  of  archers. 

The  short  bow,  common  in  southern  European 
countries,  was  probably  introduced  from  the  East. 
It  appears  semi-oriental;  in  fact,  most  of  the  speci- 
mens preserved  in  museums  are  of  Turkish,  Persian, 
or  North  Indian  origin.  Few  examples  are  known 
which  date  earlier  than  the  seventeenth  century. 
Especially  to  be  noted,  therefore,  is  an  Italian  bow 
(Case  106),  which  dates  from  the  closing  years  of  the 
fifteenth  or  the  early  years  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
This  is  interestingly  decorated  and  bears  the  coat  of 
arms  of  the  Capece-Galeota  family  of  Naples.  Its 
preservation  is  due  to  its  having  been  an  ex  voto  to 
Saint  Sebastian:  for  centuries  it  was  exhibited  above 
a  statue  in  a  North  Italian  church.  With  this,  and  of 
the  greatest  rarity,  is  its  quiver  and  a  series  of  ar- 
rows. It  may  be  remarked  that  short  bows  of  the 
present  type  were  formidable  arms.  They  were  of 
great  elasticity,  having  been  built  up  of  layers  of 
sinew,  wood,  and  horn.  A  bow  like  the  present  one 
would  have  shot  a  flight-arrow  a  distance  of  about 
five  hundred  yards,  a  range  considerably  greater  than 
the  longbow's. 

In  the  course  of  time,  the  bow  of  simpler  type  be- 


8o        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

came  replaced  by  the  arbaleste,  or  crossbow,  also  a 
very  ancient  arm,  which  not  only  shot  a  heavier 
arrow  but  was  in  practice  easier  to  aim  and  bend. 
The  bow  itself  in  earlier  arbalestes  (Case  17)  was  a 
stout  affair  built  up  (usually)  of  whalebone;  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  however,  it  came  to  be  formed  of 
an  arc  of  steel,  so  heavy  that  its  cord  could  not  quick- 
ly be  set.  Even  a  heavy  hand-lever  ("goat's  foot,''  pied 
de  hiche)  was  not  easily  employed.  Mence  arose  the 
stirrup-crossbow  which  was  in  common  use  from  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century  (see  specimens  on  east 
wall  of  main  gallery).  In  such  crossbows  a  stirrup- 
like iron,  through  which  a  foot  was  passed,  is  attached 
near  the  bow.  By  this  device,  the  bow  could  be  held 
firmly  while  the  archer  wound  up  his  windlass  with 
both  hands.  In  general,  stirrup-crossbows  are  large, 
heavy,  and  of  indifferent  workmanship.  In  rare 
cases,  they  were  inlaid  with  ivory  traceries  and 
rosettes,  and  the  metal  parts  were  picked  out  with 
inset  bands  of  brass. 

The  crossbows  which  are  best  known  in  collections 
are  those  which  were  wound  by  a  eric,  a  mechanical 
device  using  cog  and  ratchet.  When  the  crossbow 
was  to  be  wound  up,  the  eric  was  slid  in  place  over 
the  hind  end  of  the  stock.  In  front  of  it  was  a  bar 
which  ended  in  a  hook  or  claw.  This  secured  the 
bowstring  and  the  cog  was  now  turned  by  means 
of  a  long  arm  which  gave  strong  leverage.  Cross- 
bows of  this  type  are  of  three  typical  sizes:  complete 
{Ganie-),  half-sized  (Halbe-),  and  quarter-sized 
{Viertelr  Me  stung),  the  accurate  range  of  these  pieces 
being  respectively  about  80,  50,  and  30  yards,  al- 


PLATE  XXXVIII 
GAUNTLETS,  XV  AND  XVI  CENTURIES 
CLARENCE  H.  MACKAY,  RIGGS,  AND  DE  DINO  COLLECTIONS 
SEE   PAGE  72 


BOWS,    ARROWS,    AND    CROSSBOWS  8l 

though  of  course  the  bowshot  would  be  several  times 
these  distances.  In  the  largest  examples,  the  bow  is 
so  short  and  heavy  that  it  suggests  a  carriage-spring. 

It  is  interesting  that  the  use  of  crossbows  of  this 
type  still  survives  from  the  Middle  Ages.  Numerous 
guilds  are  known,  in  which,  like  the  one  in  Dresden, 
many  of  the  old  crossbows  (sixteenth  or  seven- 
teenth century)  are  still  in  use,  and  on  festival  occa- 
sions the  members  of  the  guild  shoot  at  the  popinjay 
much  in  the  same  fashion  as  did  their,  or  for  that 
matter  our,  forebears  five  centuries  ago. 

In  the  present  collection  excellent  crossbows  of 
various  types  are  shown.  In  some  cases,  the  stock 
is  partly  or  entirely  incrusted  with  bone  or  ivory, 
and  richly  ornamented.  Decorated  borders  separate 
the  shaft  of  the  crossbow  into  bands  which  in  turn 
are  often  richly  incised  with  scenes  and  arabesques. 
A  heavy  crossbow  in  the  present  collection  came  frorn 
the  Gewehrgalerie  of  Augustus  the  Strong.  Its  metal 
mountings  are  of  gilded  bronze,  carefully  incised  and 
perforated.  It  was  probably  made  by  a  member  of 
the  Haenisch  family,  which  has  worked  for  the  Saxon 
court  from  the  sixteenth  century  to  the  present  day — 
a  case  of  professional  conservatism  which  suggests 
the  Miochin  family  in  Japan. 

These  crossbows,  like  the  earlier  ones,  shot  heavy 
bolts  or  quarrels  (Case  io6)  whose  heads,  weights, 
and  feathering  indicate  to  what  degree  the  use  of  the 
crossbow  had  become  specialized.  War  bolts  had 
heavy  heads  shaped  like  lance-points.  Bolts  for 
cutting  cordage  or  rigging  had  forked  heads,  sharp  as 
knives.  There  were  many  types  of  bolts  with  blunted 


82        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

heads;  some  were  for  signaling,  and  whistled  as  they 
flew.  In  many  cases,  when  the  shafts  were  feathered, 
the  ''feathers,"  which,  by  the  way,  were  usually  of 
wood,  were  placed  in  position  somewhat  obliquely,  so 
that  the  bolt  rotated  around  its  long  axis  like  the 
ball  from  a  rifle. 

A  third  form  of  crossbow  is  represented  by  speci- 
mens dating  from  the  middle  and  late  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. These  are  crossbows  a  jalet,  or  prodds,  with 
long  wooden  stocks,  ending  usually  in  a  ball,  arranged 
for  shooting  a  pellet  of  lead  instead  of  a  bolt.  The 
string  developed  a  cradle  in  which  the  pellet  was 
placed.  Such  crossbows  are  light  both  in  stock  and 
bow,  and  were  used  for  fowling.  The  present  speci- 
mens are  of  excellent  quality.  Their  shafts  are 
decorated  with  inlaid  ivory  and  bone,  in  some  cases 
richly  sculptured  and  incised. 

The  fmal  type  of  crossbow  is  a  small  but  heavy 
prodd  used  especially  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury (Case  1 06).  In  this  type,  the  stock  was  largely 
of  metal,  ending,  however,  in  a  small  wooden  butt. 
The  bow  was  set  by  means  of  a  goat's-foot  leverwhich 
formed  a  part  of  the  metal  stock.  The  earlier  cross- 
bow a  jalet  was  set  by  a  wooden  pied-de-biche,  which 
was  carried  separately  by  the  archer. 

J.   FIRE-ARMS  OF   THE  FIFTEENTH  TO  THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 

Cannon 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  two  early 
cannon  that  are  shown  in  the  Gothic  division  of  the 
main  gallery  and  date  from  the  fourteenth  and  fif- 


PLATE  XXXIX 
GAUNTLETS,  XVI  AND  EARLY  XVII  CENTURY 

SEE    PAGE  72 


FIRE-ARMS  83 

teenth  centuries.  One  of  them  is  a  pierrier,  which 
used  stone  cannon  balls  instead  of  the  iron  ones  in- 
vented later.  Not  until  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  however,  did  cannon  fairly  rank  as  objects 
of  art.  At  this  time  numerous  founders  throughout 
Europe  were  producing  cannon  carefully  designed  in 
artistic  Hnes.  Inventions,  too,  at  this  time  changed 
the  construction  and  ornamentation  of  the  pieces.  A 
small  cannon  shown  in  Case  46  illustrates  an  in- 
teresting phase  in  the  art  of  cannon-making  during 
the  first  half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  is  a 
bronze  culverin  prepared  by  order  of  Charles  V  in 
1523,  and  cast  in  Palermo  by  a  certain  Pertus.  It  is 
remarkable  in  having  been  founded  in  sections  which 
screwed  together.  It  is  decorated  elaborately  with 
inscriptions  and  coats  of  arms.  A  pair  of  small  can- 
non cast  nearly  a  century  later  are  shown  near  Case 
122.  These  are  said  to  have  belonged  to  a  series  pre- 
sented by  Henry  IV  to  the  Due  de  Vendome  in  1606. 
Other  small  cannon  are  exhibited  nearby  and  in 
Gallery  H  5,  borrowed  from  Theodore  Offerman. 

A  cannon  of  still  later  date,  about  1630  (near  Case 
61),  is  an  interesting  relic  of  the  Turco-Austrian 
wars.  Its  barrel  is  Oriental,  made  of  Damascus  steel 
and  bearing  Turkish  ornaments  incrusted  in  silver. 
The  mounting  is  Austrian.  It  is  known  that  these 
small  cannon  were  often  used  during  seventeenth- 
century  campaigns:  they  were  sufficiently  small  to 
be  drawn  by  artillerymen  into  effective  position  on 
the  sides  of  hills.  The  present  example  is  a  gift  to 
the  Museum  by  Rutherfurd  Stuyvesant. 


84       PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 
Guns 

The  collection  is  rich  in  guns  of  the  earliest  types, 
i.e.,  those  antedating  1700.  Of  these  there  are  in  all 
about  forty  specimens,  largely  from  the  Riggs  Col- 
lection. 

In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  remarked  that  the  use 
of  gunpowder  for  hand  fire-arms  was  developed  with 
surprising  slowness.  In  fact,  during  the  centuries 
when  the  most  beautiful  armor  was  worn  guns  were 
already  in  fairly  common  use.  The  earliest  gun, 
which  dates  from  the  fifteenth  century,  was  a  hand- 
cannon,  similar  in  type  to  the  cannon  of  the  period, 
but  mounted  at  the  end  of  a  wooden  stave  which 
might  be  held  under  the  soldier's  arm.  The  gun  or 
heavy  end  was  supported  separately  by  a  forked 
stake  which  removed  in  part  the  shock  of  the  dis- 
charge, and  at  the  same  time  aided  the  user  to  aim 
his  piece.  Such  a  gun  was  evidently  a  crude  affair. 
It  could  not  be  quickly  reloaded  and  it  was  not  used 
very  successfully.  The  one  who  manipulated  it  ran 
a  dangerous  risk  of  being  cut  down  before  he  was 
able  to  load  and  discharge  his  piece.  There  was  also  a 
curious  prejudice  against  the  use  of  fire-arms,  and 
especially  of  hand  fire-arms:  they  savored  of  witch- 
craft and  the  sulphurs  of  Satan.  Then,  too,  people 
at  large  preferred  old  methods,  and  it  was  surprisingly 
long  before  fire-arms  superseded  bows  and  crossbows. 
Thus,  in  England,  not  until  Elizabeth's  time — when 
gunpowder  appears  to  have  been  manufactured  for 
the  first  time  in  England — were  muskets  ordered  to 
replace  arrows  ( 1 596) — an  order  which,  by  the  way, 


DUG  DE  GUISE  (?) 


PHILIP  III 


PLATE  XL 

GAUNTLETS  OF  DUG  DE  GUISE   (?)   AND  OF 
PHILIP  III 
SEE   PAGE  72 


FIRE-ARMS  85 

occasioned  general  murmuring  in  the  English  army. 
Still  the  muskets  even  in  the  early  sixteenth  century 
were  an  improvement  upon  the  earliest  hand  cannon, 
and  in  the  following  respects :  they  had  longer  barrels 
within  which  the  explosive  thrust  of  the  powder  could 
be  transmitted  to  the  leaden  bullet;  the  gun  had  de- 
veloped a  kind  of  stock  and  butt  which  could  be  better 
supported ;  and  the  mechanism  for  firing  the  piece  was 
now  a  matchlock  by  which  the  burning  end  of  the 
match  (tinder  in  rope  form)  could  by  a  mechanism  be 
pushed  down  squarely  upon  the  small  pan  of  powder 
which  led  into  the  gun  barrel.  The  earlier  gun,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  fired  by  applying  the  burning  match 
to  the  touch-hole  by  a  hand  which  might  not  at  a  cru- 
cial moment  have  been  the  steadiest.  Matchlocks,  it 
may  be  mentioned,  were  found  serviceable  during  a 
long  period.  They  were,  in  fact,  retained  in  use  in 
Japan  until  the  fall  of  the  Shogunate  in  1868  (see 
Japanese  Gallery,  Case  O.  12).  In  the  present  collec- 
tion matchlock  muskets,  or  harquebuses,  are  shown 
in  Case  87  and  in  the  corner  near  Case  61.  The 
earliest,  however,  does  not  antedate  1550.  In  gen- 
eral, the  matchlock  muskets  which  have  come  down 
to  us  are  not  richly  ornamented — an  exception  is  the 
one  noted  in  Case  87,  where  the  stock  is  elaborately 
carved  and  the  lock  is  enriched  with  silver. 

Wheellock  guns  (Cases  62,  87,  and  121)  came  into 
use  in  Germany  about  1 5 10  and  gradually  superseded 
the  clumsier  matchlocks.  In  the  newly  invented  gun 
the  cord  of  burning  tinder,  with  its  rapidly  changing 
length  and  frequent  misses,  was  discarded.  The  im- 


86        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

proved  arm  introduced  the  principle  of  flint  and  steel 
and  was  so  arranged  that  the  fire-stone,  which  was 
then  pyrites  rather  than  flint,  remained  stationary, 
and  it  was  the  steel  which  spun  around  in  the  form 
of  a  wheel  with  ribbed  or  file-like  edge.  I  n  such  locks, 
the  fire-stone  was  held  in  a  long-handled  wrench 
or  ''hammer"  which  was  lowered  by  hand  so  as  to 
touch  the  steel  when  the  piece  was  to  be  discharged. 
Meanwhile,  the  steel,  or  wheel,  had  been  ''spanned," 
or  wound  up  so  that  it  would  revolve  rapidly  when 
its  spring  was  released  by  the  trigger.  A  single  wind- 
ing, it  may  be  mentioned,  would  allow  a  piece  to  be 
discharged  only  a  single  time.  Thanks  to  this  newer 
invention,  it  became  rarer  for  a  gun  to  misfire,  hence 
the  greater  practical  value  of  the  musket  and  the  ex- 
tension of  its  use  to  people  of  all  classes  throughout 
Europe.  Its  discovery  was  hailed  as  epoch-making: 
guns  became  fashionable  and  great  artists  were  em- 
ployed to  prepare  and  embellish  them.  In  fact,  at  no 
time  in  the  history  of  fire-arms  were  more  beautiful 
guns  prepared  than  during  the  later  part  of  the  six- 
teenth century  and  the  earlier  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  (Plate  L.)  The  stocks  were  richly  incrusted 
with  bone  and  ivory,  or  with  various  woods;  the  metal 
ornaments  were  delicate,  and  the  barrels  and  locks 
were  richly  carved  and  gilded.  The  taste  which  gov- 
erned the  art  of  the  gun-maker  of  this  period  can  well 
be  appreciated  by  examining  the  objects  shown  in  the 
north  gallery,  in  Case  87.  Three  of  these,  dating  from 
the  early  seventeenth  century,  were  executed  by  mem- 
bers of  the  Sadeler-Spat  "family,"  whose  archives 


PLATE  XLI 
RONDACHES,   XVI   AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  AND  DE  DINO  COLLECTIONS 
SEE   PAGE  72 


FIRE-ARMS  87 

have  recently  been  studied  by  Dr.  Hans  Stoecklein. 
In  these  instances,  the  art  of  the  ciseleur  in  steel  had 
reached  about  its  highest  point  of  development.  The 
stocks,  too,  are  beautifully  executed,  and  their  inlaid 
or  intarsial  ornamentation  is  carried  out  with  a  preci- 
sion hardly  excelled  in  the  history  of  the  art.  (See 
design  on  Handbook  cover.)  Among  the  wheellock 
guns  may  be  examined  side  by  side  the  works  of 
Italian,  French,  German,  Austrian,  and  possibly 
Flemish  masters  of  highest  rank.  Particularly  to  be 
noted  is  the  harquebus  dating  from  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  French  workmanship,  admirably 
designed  in  the  fashion  of  Henry  II.  This  was  one 
of  the  capital  pieces  of  the  Spitzer  Collection.  It 
resembles  closely  a  harquebus  in  the  Turin  armory 
which  bears  the  same  initials  ''C.  S.''  on  the  barrel; 
and  it  may  well  have  been,  like  the  latter,  one  of  a 
series  which  belonged  to  Emmanuel  Philibert,  Duke 
of  Savoy,  and  was  a  gift  to  this  prince  from  Philip  II 
of  Spain.  A  rare  object  is  the  fowling-piece  deco- 
rated with  enamel.  A  beautiful  example  of  the  skill 
of  a  Brescian  armorer  is  the  heavy  harquebus  with 
fittings  elaborately  sculptured  in  steel.  It  dates 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  and 
was  executed  by  Lazarino  Cominazzo.  This  artist 
and  other  members  of  his  family  attained  world- 
wide fame  as  gunsmiths.  (See  middle  figure  in 
Plate  L.) 

In  Case  87,  also,  are  keys  (spanners)  of  harquebuses 
belonging  to  the  arms  exhibited,  and  decorated  in 
similar  style.   Attached  to  or  forming  part  of  keys 


88        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

are  sometimes  small  powder  flasks,  or  primers.  These 
contained  a  fme  grade  of  powder  which  was  placed 
in  the  pan  of  the  touch-hole.  The  usual  powder  was 
of  much  coarser  texture.  (See  also  the  primers  and 
spanners  in  Case  63.) 

Guns  of  the  type  here  described  are  in  certain  in- 
stances rifled.  It  may  be  remarked  that  the  art  of 
rifling  a  gun  barrel  is  fairly  ancient,  dating  possibly 
from  the  closing  years  of  the  fifteenth  century.  The 
grooves  cut  in  the  barrels  were,  however,  at  first 
straight  or  nearly  straight,  and  were  intended  less  for 
the  purpose  of  causing  the  slug  to  revolve  than  for 
keeping  the  barrel  clean. 

Different  forms  of  wheellock  guns  are  represented 
in  the  present  collection,  varying  from  small,  light 
fowling-pieces  to  siege-  or  wall-'' cannon."  Of  the 
former  type  there  is  the  Tesching  (Case  62)  with  its 
long  delicate  barrel  and  light  stock,  which  have  given 
rise  to  the  view  that  it  was  a  woman's  gun.  The 
majority  of  these  light  guns  are  of  German  workman- 
ship: they  appear  to  have  been  a  favorite  arm  in  the 
Baltic  provinces.  Still  another  form  of  wheellock 
has  a  curious  heavy  stock  bent  almost  hook-shaped — • 
the  "petronel''  which  figures  in  the  revolt  of  the 
Netherlands  and  in  the  Huguenot  wars  in  France 
(Case  62).  Fowling-pieces,  boar-guns,  and  muskets 
are  represented  in  the  cases  noted.  In  Case  121  are 
also  two  heavy  wall  pieces.  One  of  them,  from  the 
civic  arsenal  of  Dantzic,  bears  fine  engravings  and 
numerous  inscriptions  on  inset  plates  of  bone.  The 
latest  wheellocks,  1630- 1720,  are  apt  to  have  their 


FIRE-ARMS  89 

Stocks  unornamented,  but  their  locks  richly  en- 
graved. In  the  last  case  noted  are  "forks"  on  which 
harquebuses  were  supported  in  actual  use. 

It  is  not  generally  known  that  many  of  our  modern 
inventions  in  fire-arms  were  foreshadowed  at  an 
early  period.  Thus  the  wheellock  period,  roundly 
between  1520  and  1650,  was  especially  fertile  in  the 
results  of  experimenters.  Double-barreled  arms  were 
well  known.  In  fact,  even  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
hand-guns  of  two  or  more  barrels  appear  to  have  been 
in  fairly  general  use,  as  well  as  ''organ-pipe"  cannon, 
whose  many  barrels  suggest  closely  in  principle  the 
"pepper-boxes"  of  our  fathers'  times.  Breech- 
loading  cannon  were  common  during  the  fifteenth 
century.  Revolvers  with  devices  suggesting  nine- 
teenth-century patents  were  used  during  the  six- 
teenth and  seventeenth  centuries.  In  some  of  these 
(Case  86)  the  outer  barrel  was  single  and  its  base  was 
formed  of  a  chambered  cylinder  containing  numerous 
cartridges.  A  not  uncommon  device  in  sixteenth- 
century  guns  was  a  double  lock  to  guard  against  mis- 
fire: with  this  there  was  also  an  adjustment  whereby 
two  charges,  one  deeper  than  the  other,  could  be  fired 
separately  from  the  same  barrel. 

An  early  improvement  upon  the  wheellock  was  the 
snaphaunce  (Cases  121  and  121  A,  nine  specimens  in 
all),  which  was  invented  during  the  earliest  years  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  This  device  was  in  a  sense 
the  opposite  of  the  wheellock.  In  the  latter  the  fire- 
stone  remained  in  place  and  the  steel  moved  against 
it;  while  in  the  snaphaunce,  the  flint  was  driven 


90        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

against  the  steel,  which  moved  but  slightly.  The 
steel  was  here  arranged  as  an  upright  plate,  some- 
times furrowed,  which  the  hammer  was  to  strike, 
and  capable  of  being  tilted  at  the  stroke  so  that  the 
sparks  would  enter  the  priming  pan.  This  later  ad- 
justment, however,  was  usually  complicated,  the 
priming  pan  opening  by  means  of  a  spring  within 
or  outside  the  plate  of  the  lock,  a  complex  arrange- 
ment, but  less  complicated  than  the  wheellock — 
for  this  required  to  be  set  by  winding  it  up,  and  was 
useless  if  the  *'key"  was  misplaced,  while  the  snap- 
haunce  could  be  cocked  by  a  simple  pull  with  one's 
thumb.  As  another  advantage,  it  was  now  shown 
that  the  newer  form  was  less  subject  to  misfire. 

The  snaphaunce  remained  in  use  but  a  relatively 
short  time,  a  slightly  improved  invention,  the  flint- 
lock, taking  its  place.  This  appeared  about  1630, 
but  was  not  used  commonly  for  several  generations. 
Not  until  1690,  for  example,  did  England  discard  its 
wheellock  musket  in  favor  of  the  newer  type.  In  the 
flintlock,  the  ''steel"  was  decidedly  mobile,  the 
descending  hammer  itself  thrusting  the  steel  from 
the  priming  pan  at  the  instant  the  sparks  flew — 
without  the  need  therefore  of  springs  regulating 
synchronously  the  fall  of  the  hammer  and  the  open- 
ing of  the  priming  pan.  In  the  present  collection 
there  are  few  flintlocks:  one  sees,  however  (Case  121), 
an  interesting  boar  rifle,  dating  from  1750,  orna- 
mented with  incrusted  metals  of  different  colors. 
Near  this  is  an  excellent  example  of  a  fowling-piece: 
this  is  French  and  dates  from  the  First  Empire. 


PLATE  XLIII 
EDEA,   EARLY  XVI  CENTURY 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  73 


FIRE-ARMS  91 

It  is  said  to  have  been  made  by  order  of  Napoleon 
as  a  gift  to  Marshal  Ney.  This,  a  loan  from  George 
Leary,  Jr.,  is  the  latest  gun  in  the  collection. 

We  need  only  add  that  from  this  time  onward  the 
study  of  gun-making  becomes  especially  complicated : 
for  one  thing,  numberless  examples  appear.  Their 
merit  from  the  decorative  standpoint  is,  however,  no 
longer  conspicuous,  though  many  of  them,  like  the 
"Mantons''  and  "Mortimers,"  were  executed  with 
great  technical  and  artistic  skill.  Inventions  appear 
continually,  and  there  are  constant  mechanical 
changes.  Of  these  we  may  mention  but  one,  percus- 
sion-locks. These  were  invented  about  1807,  but 
they  did  not  replace  the  flintlock  until  after  the  year 
1834.  In  the  latter  year,  it  was  demonstrated  that 
the  flintlock  was  relatively  ineffective.  Thus  a  test  of 
six  thousand  shots  showed  that  the  flintlock  missed 
fire  nearly  a  thousand  times,  while  the  percussion- 
lock  missed  only  six.  (For  arms  of  this  period  see 
the  Charles  M.  Schott,  Jr.,  Donation,  Gallery  H  7, 
Cases  121A-121C. 
Pistols 

Pistols  were  in  use  during  as  long  a  time,  prac- 
tically, as  guns,  and  they  underwent  a  similar  de- 
velopment, both  technical  and  artistic.  In  the  pres- 
ent collection,  specimens  of  the  earlier  types  are 
alone  illustrated.  (Plate  LI.)  European  matchlock 
pistols  are  almost  unknown.  Wheellock  pistols,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  common;  they  are  long  both  in 
stock  and  barrel  and,  like  early  pistols  generally, 
often  occur  in  pairs;  they  were  apt  to  be  carried  in 


92        PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

holsters  and  were  sometimes  used  by  the  horseman, 
one  in  each  hand.  The  stock  was  heavy,  both  to 
balance  the  long  barrel  and  to  be  used  inverted  as  a 
mace.  Wheellock  pistols,  in  general,  illustrate  the 
enrichment  of  fire-arms  which  occurred  during  the 
sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries.  A  familiar 
form,  the  Reiter  pistol,  with  a  large  and  heavy  ball- 
butt,  is  ornamented  usually  with  inlaid  work,  in  col- 
ored and  engraved  woods,  bone,  or  ivory.  Richly 
decorated  examples  of  early  wheellock  pistols  are 
seen  in  Cases  64  and  86.  In  the  second  of  these,  a 
double-barreled  pistol,  bearing  the  arms  of  Charles  V, 
belonged  to  the  Madrid  collection:  it  is  pictured  in 
a  sixteenth-century  manuscript  catalogue  of  this 
armory.  Another  important  wheellock  (Case  86), 
signed  by  Felix  Weerder  of  Zurich,  is  traced  to  the 
collection  of  Charles  I  of  England.  An  elaborate 
pair  of  holster  pistols  (Case  103),  believed  to  have 
belonged  to  Henry  II  of  France,  is  from  the  collec- 
tion of  Count  Pourtales.  Some  of  the  early  pistols 
show  elaborately  sculptured  barrels;  others  have  their 
stocks  delicately  carved  in  wood  or  ivory.  Of  the 
latter  type  is  the  pair  of  Dutch  wheellocks  shown  in 
Case  86,  and  there  is  a  similar  pair  of  flintlocks  in 
Case  64.  Here,  also,  are  several  examples  of  Brescian 
workmanship,  richly  executed  in  steel  in  the  school 
of  Cominazzo. 

To  be  noted  in  the  present  collection  of  pistols  is  a 
pair  of  early  Scotch  holster  wheellock  pistols  or 
"dags,''  dated  1607  (Case  12 iC). 

Flintlock  pistols  are  represented  in  but  few  in- 


FIRE-ARMS  93 

Stances  (Cases  121,  121  A,  121 C).  Some  are  Brescian, 
dating  from  the  early  eighteenth  century,  and  French, 
like  those  prepared  by  Le  Hollandais,  dating  from  the 
latter  part  of  this  century.  In  such  examples  the 
butts  have  attained  nearly  the  form  of  the  modern 
pistol  and  the  size  of  the  arm  has  become  greatly 
reduced.  In  earlier  types,  small  wheellock  pistols  (in 
the  same  case)  are  very  rare. 

Powder  Horns  and  Primers 

Containers  for  powder  (Plate  LI  I)  were  ever 
included  in  the  outfit  of  hunter  or  musketeer,  and  in 
their  quality  they  corresponded  to  his  arms.  Horns 
of  cattle,  ibex,  deer,  and  chamois  were  apt  to  be  em- 
ployed as  the  basis  of  these  "powder  horns''  and 
were  frequently  richly  mounted  in  metal.  In  some  in- 
stances, the  containers  were  boxes,  angular,  spherical, 
or  pear-shaped,  made  of  wood,  ivory,  metal,  or  hard- 
ened leather  (Case  63).  Beautiful  examples  of  these 
are  shown  in  Case  10 1 .  Some  of  them  are  elaborately 
carved  in  sections^  deer  antlers,  and  one  is  in  bronze, 
gilded,  in  the  shape  of  the  section  of  deer  antler,  and 
contains  a  compass  and  a  watch.  In  many  cases  the 
metal  mountings  are  beautifully  wrought.  In  some  of 
these  "horns"  or  "pears"  the  art  of  the  worker  in 
hardened  leather  is  well  shown.  Especial  note  should 
be  made  of  a  powder  horn  dating  about  1 560,  bearing 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Asiniere  family.  The  majority 
of  the  objects  in  this  case  date  from  the  second  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  Other  powder  horns  or  pears 
are  seen  in  Case  63.   Among  the  most  important  of 


94       PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

these  is  a  horn  dating  about  1 720,  in  cut  and  pressed 
leather,  which  is  one  of  the  best  of  its  kind.  In  the 
same  case  are  numerous  primers  with  or  without  the 
spanners,  or  keys  for  winding  the  wheellock.  There 
are  also  bandoliers  (Case  62)  which  belonged  to  the 
guards  of  the  Saxon  electors,  Christian  I  (i  560-1 591) 
and  Christian  II.  The  bandolier  is  a  shoulder  strap 
covered  with  black  velvet,  fitted  with  bronze-gilt 
clasp  and  buckles,  and  hung  with  a  series  of  containers 
for  cartridges.  At  that  period  each  load  was  already 
made  up,  containing  powder  and  the  needed  wad, 
ready  to  be  slipped  into  the  barrel  of  the  harquebus. 
From  such  a  bandolier  slung  also  containers  for 
bullets  or  slugs,  wads,  and  priming  powder.  It  may 
be  mentioned  that  cartridge  boxes  were  also  in  com- 
mon use  from  the  late  sixteenth  century  onward 
(Case  loi).  These  are  sometimes  richly  decorated — 
embossed,  engraved,  and  gilded.  It  may  also  be  men- 
tioned that  in  some  instances  cartridges  were  stored 
away  in  the  butt  of  the  wheellock  guns,  either  at  the 
base,  which  was  covered  by  a  metal  flap,  or  at  the 
side,  where  a  small  pocket  was  present,  covered  by  a 
sliding  lid.  In  this  pocket  the  musketeer  might  keep 
his  reserve  blocks  of  pyrites. 

K.  ARMS  AND  ARMOR  OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH 
CENTURY 

It  was  during  this  century  that  armor  was  generally 
discarded.  Even  in  its  earliest  years,  complete  suits  of 
armor  were  rarely  worn.  (Plate  XXXII.)  Both  noble 
and  commoner  realized  that  the  advantages  gained 


PLATE  XLV 

SWORD   POMMELS,   XV  AND  EARLY  XVI  CENTURY 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 
SEE   PAGE  68 


ARMOR  —  SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY  95 

by  wearing  armor  poorly  repaid  the  discomfort  which 
it  cost.  Then,  too,  the  great  changes  which  the  use 
of  wheellock  muskets  and  pistols  brought  into  actual 
warfare  made  it  of  little  practical  importance  whether 
the  armor  was  made  by  an  artist-armorer  or  by  a  local 
blacksmith.  Hence,  armor  rapidly  lost  its  interest 
as  an  object  of  art.  Its  main  virtue  was  based  upon 
the  weight  of  its  metal,  for  head-piece  or  corselet 
was  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  withstand  the  impact 
of  a  musket-ball  at  a  relatively  short  distance.  Un- 
less, indeed,  armor  could  do  this,  it  had  little  worth. 
So  it  came  about  that  a  purchaser  or  wearer  inquired 
less  often  how  little  a  harness  weighed  or  how  ac- 
curately it  fitted:  he  wished  rather  to  know  whether 
it  really  withstood  gunshot.  In  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, therefore,  the  maker  would  be  apt  to  show  at 
some  point  of  his  armor  the  actual  imprint  of  a 
test  ball.  Sometimes,  the  marks  of  several  bullets 
would  appear  on  breastplate,  backplate,  or  head-piece. 
Should,  by  chance,  the  armor  prove  a  decorated  one, 
the  imprint  of  the  musket-ball  would  often  be  drawn 
ingeniously  into  a  scheme  of  ornamentation.  In 
Cases  1 18  and  120  are  two  half-suits  of  armor  in  which 
these  testing  marks  appear. 

In  a  general  way,  harnesses  of  the  early  years  of 
the  seventeenth  century  resemble  those  of  the  last 
years  of  the  sixteenth.  They  are,  however,  made  of 
heavier  metal,  less  carefully  finished,  and  their  form 
is  ungainly.  The  modeling  of  the  armor  for  the  legs 
is  poor,  and  a  series  of  joints  in  the  ankle  region 
affords  movements  which  in  earlier  armor  were  made 


g6        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

possible  by  the  accurate  fitting  of  the  plates  to  the 
calf  and  ankle.  There  are  two  tendencies  apparent 
in  the  evolution  of  armor  of  this  time:  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  shoulder  defenses  and  the  lengthening 
and  widening  of  the  thigh  plates.  In  fact,  by  the 
middle  of  the  century,  the  thigh  plates  become  great- 
ly exaggerated  in  size.  This  change  was  reflected 
from  the  fashion  in  dress,  for  the  thigh  defenses  were 
designed  to  inclose  the  wide-hipped  leg-gear  of  the 
period.  To  accomplish  this  the  tassets  merged  with 
the  cuissards:  in  earlier  examples  the  tassets  were 
attached  to  the  banded  cuissards  by  means  of  turn- 
ing pegs;  in  later  ones  no  line  of  separation  remains. 
So  exaggerated  did  this  style  become  that  the  wearer 
was  given  wide  and  long  hip-armor  even  at  the  ex- 
pense of  reducing  the  corselet:  hence  arose  the  short- 
breasted  breastplates  of  the  time  of  Charles  II  and 
James  II  (Cases  ii6,  130,  131).  This  reduction  in 
the  size  of  the  corselet  tended  obviously  to  make  the 
wearer  appear  narrow-chested:  hence,  to  restore  rela- 
tive proportions  and  at  the  same  time  to  strengthen 
the  corselet,  the  shoulder  guards  became  greatly  en- 
larged, their  sides  broadly  overlapping  back-  and 
breast-plates. 

The  closed  head-piece  in  the  early  seventeenth  cen- 
tury difl'ers  little,  save  in  the  weight,  from  the  helmets 
of  the  later  years  of  the  sixteenth  century  (Case  117). 
Burganets,  however,  increased  largely  in  use,  but 
developed  highly  specialized  forms.  Thus,  by  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the  back  of  the 
burganet,  which  formerly  was  shaped  closely  to  the 


PLATE  XLVI 
POLE-ARMS,   XVI   AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGES   76,  77 


ARMOR  —  SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY  97 

nape  of  the  neck,  flared  out  behind  like  the  back  of  a 
fireman's  helmet  (Case  129).  The  ear-  or  cheek- 
piece,  too,  changed  in  type:  it  became  reduced  in 
size  and  was  usually  formed  of  a  single  triangular 
plate.  A  visor,  or  buffe,  was  replaced  by  a  simple 
bar  of  steel  which  was  fastened  in  place  in  front  of 
the  nose.  The  rudiment  of  the  older  visor  still 
appeared,  however,  in  an  umbril,  or  forehead  plate, 
which  could  be  rotated  slightly  up  or  down, 
furnished  with  a  flat  brim  and  supporting  the  nasal 
guard.  Variations  in  this  head-piece  are  numerous. 
Some  were  hat-shaped;  some  were  mere  hat- 
linings,  which  became  lighter  and  lighter  until 
they  were  made  to  fold,  when  not  in  use,  and  slip  in 
one's  pocket  (Case  129).  At  the  opposite  extreme 
was  the  miner's  helmet  which  (Case  1 32)  sometimes 
weighed  thirty  pounds.  This  was  especially  con- 
structed so  that  a  soldier  in  the  trenches  could 
thrust  up  his  head — ^with  moderate  safety — within 
close  range  of  the  enemy.  In  some  instances  these 
helmets  were  so  modeled  that  the  openings  for  the 
eyes  were  reduced  to  holes,  and  margined  above  with 
curious  ridges  which  gave  this  type  of  head-piece  the 
appearance  of  a  skull — hence  its  name  "death's  head 
burganet." 

During  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  which  ended  about 
the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  and  was  con- 
temporary in  part  with  the  Puritan  Revolution  in 
England,  the  use  of  armor  still  further  declined.  De- 
fenses for  shoulders  and  arms  were  gradually  aban- 
doned and  there  remained  only  the  corselet  and 


98        PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

casque.  These  were  the  pieces  which  furnished  the 
regular  equipment  of  a  horseman  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV.  The  corselet  was  straight-waisted, 
flat  in  the  breast  and  round  in  the  shoulders,  held  in 
place  by  wide  metal-plated  shoulder-straps.  Several 
good  examples  of  breastplates  dating  from  this  time 
appear  in  the  collection:  one  in  particular  (Case  1 19) 
is  a  corselet  of  the  state  guard  of  Louis  XIV;  and  with 
this  is  placed  a  ceremonial  casque  and  shield  made 
for  the  roi  soleil  at  the  Gobelins,  and  decorated  in 
bronze-gilt,  probably  by  Boulle.  This  type  of  armor, 
it  will  be  recalled,  has  survived  in  a  few  regiments 
until  our  own  times.  Exceptional  cases  of  conserva- 
tism are  to  be  noted:  oificers  wore  half-armor 
throughout  the  second  half  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury and  even  during  the  eighteenth  century.  This 
armor,  however,  was  regarded  somewhat  as  a  cere- 
monial uniform:  it  was  poorly  executed,  the  metal 
was  thin,  made  in  sheets  which  had  been  rolled  into 
their  present  thickness,  and  the  corselets  and  arm- 
pieces  were  remarkable  rather  from  their  showy  rivet 
heads  and  varnished  colors  than  from  their  useful- 
ness. This  is  the  type  of  armor  shown  so  often  in 
portraits  dating  from  the  reign  of  Louis  XV,  and 
even  Louis  XVI,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  half- 
suits  of  it  were  brought  to  America  by  our  French 
allies — for  Rochambeau  is  described  in  a  contem- 
porary poem  as  'in  shining  armor  clad.' 

In  general,  though,  regimental  armor  had  quite 
disappeared  by  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
In  the  armies  of  Frederick  the  Great,  or  in  the  French 


PLATE  XLVII 

WAR  HAMMERS  AND  MACES,   XV  AND   XVI  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  AND  DE  DINO  COLLECTIONS 
SEE  PAGE  68 


ARMOR  —  SEVENTEENTH    CENTURY  99 

and  Indian  War  and  the  American  Revolution,  there 
remained  but  a  single  rudiment  of  the  complete  armor 
of  former  centuries.  This  was  the  little  gorget  plate 
(Case  133)  which  hung  by  string  or  ribbon  on  the 
oificer's  breast.  Such  an  ornament  one  sees,  for  ex- 
ample, in  the  earliest  portrait  of  Washington. 

Before  leaving  this  theme  we  should  note  that  the 
armor  of  the  latest  period  was  as  decadent  in  its  type 
of  decoration  as  in  its  form  or  its  material.  Brightly 
burnished  ''white''  armor,  for  one  thing,  disappeared. 
Most  of  the  harnesses  came  to  be  blackened  by  a 
process  similar  to  the  modern  one  of  ''case  harden- 
ing." Only  rarely  one  finds  (Case  124)  the  survival 
of  the  more  ancient  blued  or  russeted  harnesses  which 
were  so  common  during  the  second  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  The  latest  harnesses,  as  we  stated 
above,  owed  their  colors  oftener  to  overlaid  varnishes 
than  to  the  older  and  time-consuming  processes  of 
bluing  by  heat  or  by  chemicals. 

It  might  finally  be  remarked  that  as  plate-armor 
came  to  be  discarded  there  was  redeveloped  an  armor 
of  leather  (Case  116)  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  Thus,  dur- 
ing the  time  of  Louis  XIII  or  of  Cromwell  there  ap- 
peared buff-leather  coats  with  long  skirts,  which 
proved  to  be  a  serviceable  defense  against  thrusts 
of  sword  or  pike.  Below  the  bufi'-coat  the  legs  were 
protected  with  heavy  jack-boots.  The  hands  were 
encased  with  gauntlets  which  were  long-sleeved, 
reaching  quite  to  the  elbow;  the  earlier  ones  were 
steel,  the  later  of  buff -leather.   It  may  be  noted  that 


1 00     PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

leather  defenses  for  the  body  were  worn  regularly 
even  at  an  earlier  period  than  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  pourpoint  shown  in  Case  74 
dates  from  1 590.  This  could  have  been  worn  under  a 
peascod  breastplate,  though  as  a  heavily  padded 
defense  it  was  sometimes  worn  alone.  This  we  know 
from  portraits  of  the  period,  and  from  the  fact  that 
pourpoints  were  carefully  decorated.  In  the  present 
specimen  ornamental  needlework  is  present  and 
bands  delicately  woven  with  silver  threads. 

The  arms  of  the  seventeenth  century  include  guns 
and  pistols  in  notably  large  proportion,  also  pikes 
and  halberds.  Smaller  arms  are  disappearing,  such 
as  maces,  war  hammers,  daggers.  Swords  alone  re- 
tain their  relative  number. 

Guns  at  this  time  included  (Case  121)  a  variety 
of  harquebuses,  muske toons,  and  hunting  rifles.  In 
general,  their  decoration  was  poorer  in  quality  than 
during  the  earlier  century.  For  one  reason,  the  wars 
in  the  seventeenth  century  had  impoverished  people 
generally;  the  nobility  had  sufi"ered  serious  reverses 
and  the  rise  of  the  commoner  had  not  yet  brought  to 
him  a  taste  for  refined  luxury  in  military  equipment. 
Guns  and  pistols  are  less  elaborate;  and  powder 
flasks,  primers,  and  spanners  (Case  63)  are  designed 
for  service  rather  than  display.  Pistols  (Case  64) 
appear  at  this  time  usually  as  large  holster  pieces, 
notably  of  the  form  called  "dags, "  whose  heavy  butts 
could  be  used  as  maces  after  the  pieces  were  dis- 
charged. 

Pole-arms  lost  much  of  the  elegance  of  the  two  pre- 


PLATE  XLVIII 
DAGGERS,  XIV,  XV,  AND  XVI  CENTURIES 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGES    58,  73 


ARMS  — 


SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY  lOI 


ceding  centuries.  And  one  has  only  to  compare  the 
elaborate  halberds  of  various  forms  (Cases  69  and  70) 
with  those  on  the  north  wall  of  the  main  gallery  to 
realize  that  the  age  of  luxury  in  arms  had  passed 
away.  In  general,  the  pike  with  its  short  head  and 
long  shaft  was  taking  the  place  of  the  large-bladed 
halberds  of  earlier  times.  The  second  characteristic 
pole-arm  of  this  period  was  the  partisan,  which  was 
a  derivative  of  the  "ox- tongue"  pole-arm  of  earlier 
times;  it  differed  mainly  in  the  greater  size  of  its 
lateral  hooks  or  lobes;  for  these  sometimes  became  of 
large  size  and  their  borders  developed  serrate  margins. 
The  last  surviving  pole-arm  was,  as  already  noted, 
the  spontoon,  carried  by  non-commissioned  officers, 
especially  between  1700  and  1750.  It  was  a  small 
partisan,  the  head  sometimes  only  two  inches  long;  it 
was  designed  less  for  service  than  for  ceremony.  (See 
the  series  in  the  two  stands  against  the  north  wall  of 
the  main  gallery.) 

The  sword  during  the  seventeenth  century  (Cases 
61,  122,  and  125)  came  to  acquire  the  style  of  hilt 
which  is  familiar  to  modern  soldiers.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  the  handle  retained  the  numerous 
loops,  rings,  and  bands  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
sometimes  "swept  hilted''  with  curving  supports 
passing  from  the  pommel  end  of  the  knuckle-guard  to 
the  region  of  the  base  of  the  blade.  From  this  stage 
onward,  the  loop-  and  ring-shaped  supports  undergo 
an  interesting  evolution,  for,  passing  in  review  a 
series  of  later  swords  (Case  125),  we  may  see  how 
little  by  little  these  elements  become  transformed. 


102      PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

Thus,  the  front  rings  of  the  guard,  i.e.,  those  further 
from  the  hand,  soon  take  the  lead  in  this  develop- 
ment: each  becomes  filled  in  with  a  perforated  plate, 
then  increases  in  size,  its  perforated  plate  becom- 
ing convex.  The  guard  is  next  transformed  into 
thebi-lobedcup,  and  from  this  form  it  passes  step  by 
step  into  the  single  cup-shaped  guard  characteristic 
of  the  Spanish  and  Italian  rapiers  of  the  middle  of 
the  seventeenth  century.  From  this  stage,  a  series 
of  changes  transforms  the  guard  into  a  flattened 
shield-shaped  plate,  sometimes  circular,  sometimes 
divided  into  halves.  Then,  little  by  little  this  plate 
becomes  reduced  so  that  by  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  the  guard  of  the  familiar  court  sword 
is  attained  (Case  133).  The  earlier  sword-hilts,  even 
in  the  most  luxurious  arms,  were  rarely  of  any  other 
metal  than  steel.  Their  great  luxury  consisted  in 
inlays  and  overlays  of  precious  metals.  By  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  however,  hilts  of  silver 
and  gold  made  their  appearance.  The  blade,  which 
in  the  earlier  seventeenth  century,  is  for  service  in 
war,  becomes  reduced  by  the  end  of  this  century  to 
a  small-sword,"  shorter  and  more  delicate,  designed 
rarely  to  be  used. 

The  improvement  in  the  general  social  conditions 
of  Europe  during  the  later  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  is  reflected  in  the  reappearance  of  luxurious 
arms.  In  Case  127  is  shown  a  series  of  these  weapons 
used  for  hunting.  The  hilts  in  some  instances  are  of 
ivory,  or  gilded  bronze,  or  are  incrusted  with  silver. 
The  blade  in  many  cases  is  elaborately  engraved. 


I 

I 


PLATE  XLIX 
DAGGERS,   XVI  CENTURY 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGES   73,  75 


HORSE    EQUIPMENT  IO3 

sometimes  with  calendars.  In  such  arms  the  sheath 
is  often  a  "trousse/'  containing  knives  and  forks  and 
sometimes  special  instruments  for  cutting  up  the  game. 

Daggers,  as  already  stated,  were  in  less  frequent 
use.  The  commonest  form  was  held  in  the  left  hand 
(Cases  82,  125).  This  type,  the  main  gauche,  was 
developed  in  a  special  school  of  fencing  where  the 
parrying  was  aided  by  the  dagger.  These  arms  corre- 
spond closely  with  their  swords.  They  are  sometimes 
provided  with  irregular  or  saw-shaped  backs  which 
were  used  for  catching  and  deflecting  a  sword-blade. 

L.     HORSE  EQUIPMENT  DURING  THE  SIXTEENTH 
AND  SEVENTEENTH  CENTURIES 

Horses  in  full  panoply,  with  crupper,  peytrel,  cri- 
nets,  and  chamfron  were,  as  already  noted,  common 
in  the  first  years  of  the  sixteenth  century.  They  were 
most  abundant  toward  the  middle  of  this  century. 
From  that  time  their  use  gradually  diminished  until 
by  the  year  1600  horse  armor  was  relatively  rare.  It 
was,  however,  continued  until  about  1700.  The  last 
examples  were  of  poor  workmanship,  formed  of 
rolled  steel,  and  usually  crude  in  outline  and  decora- 
tion (see  equestrian  figure  at  the  north  end  of  the 
main  gallery).  In  the  present  collection,  horse 
trappings  of  various  types,  some  richly  engraved, 
etched,  and  gilded,  are  seen  in  Case  83,  and  in  the 
series  of  chamfrons  hung  on  the  columns  of  the  main 
hall.  The  earlier  chamfrons  were  the  most  complete: 
they  extended  well  over  the  nose-region  of  the  horse 
and  were  furnished  with  plates  which  passed  below 


104     PLATE-ARMOR   AND  FIRE-ARMS 

the  eyes  and  protected  the  cheeks.  During  the  last 
decades  of  the  sixteenth  century  thechamfron  was  in 
some  instances  so  reduced  in  size  that  it  covered 
scarcely  more  than  the  forehead  of  the  horse  (see  one 
of  the  equestrian  figures).  Bits  and  stirrups  (Plate 
LIV),  however,  seem  to  have  increased  in  size  and 
become  more  richly  decorated  as  the  horse  armor 
declined.  The  stirrups  of  the  seventeenth  century 
were  of  great  size,  and  sometimes  bore  elaborately 
pierced  ornaments.  This,  too,  became  the  style  in 
the  development  of  bits:  in  some  instances,  they 
were  almost  like  panels  of  lacework  (Case  128). 

Saddles  underwent  an  interesting  development. 
During  the  sixteenth  century  the  rider  was  well 
protected  in  front  and  rear  by  the  high  pommel  and 
cantle  of  his  saddle.  These  were  usually  reinforced 
with  plates  of  steel  and  decorated  in  the  same  style 
as  the  horseman's  armor.  In  general,  the  saddles 
were  cumbersome  affairs,  provided  with  elaborate 
housing  (Case  83),  richly  mounted  in  velvet,  bordered 
with  fringe,  and  ornamented  with  embroidery  and 
galloon.  In  rare  instances,  especially  in  the  seven- 
teenth century,  the  saddles  were  plated  with  bone, 
incised  with  ornamental  borders  and  scenes,  the  en- 
graving filled  in  with  black,  somewhat  in  the  style 
of  the  gun-locks  of  this  period  (Case  128). 

M.  BANNERS 

Banners  were  developed  at  an  early  period  as  aids 
to  recognition.  By  their  means  bodies  of  armored 
men  identified  one  another  at  a  distance.    In  later 


PLATE  L 

GUNS,  XVI  AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  AND  DE  DINO  COLLECTIONS 

SEE   PAGES  86,  87 


BANNERS  105 

times  the  banner  signified  a  rallying  point,  a  promoter 
of  safety,  and  a  bond  of  unity.  Hence  it  became  of 
sentimental  importance:  it  symbolized  the  family, 
the  clan,  or  the  nation.  Ancient  banners  have  in 
very  few  instances  come  down  to  the  present  time. 
The  material  of  which  they  were  made  was  perishable 
and  many  a  prized  relic  of  ancient  wars  has  literally 
fallen  into  dust.  There  appear  to  be  no  examples 
extant  of  the  small  pennons  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In 
Spain,  there  are  preserved  several  trophies  of  the 
Moorish  wars  (fifteenth  century).  In  the  famous 
Zeughaus  at  Solothurn  is  a  series  of  the  banners 
taken  by  the  Confederates  from  the  Burgundians 
during  the  late  fifteenth  century,  and  in  other  Swiss 
cities  similar  specimens  are  recorded.  Flags  dating 
from  the  sixteenth  century,  many  of  them  either  in 
the  poorest  preservation  or  so  largely  restored  as  to  be 
almost  new,  are  exhibited  in  various  European  mu- 
seums. In  well-known  collections,  seventeenth-cen- 
tury banners  are  not  uncommon,  especially  those 
which  belonged  to  guilds  and  churches;  and  eight- 
eenth-century banners  are  preserved  abundantly. 
In  a  general  way,  however,  banners  are  among  the 
most  difficult  objects  to  collect.  For  reasons  of  senti- 
ment they  rarely  find  their  way  into  private  hands 
and  still  more  rarely  into  the  market.  When  a 
national  banner  is  sold,  it  usually  passes  back  to  its 
nation,  at  any  cost. 

In  the  present  galleries,  the  series  of  banners  rep- 
resented is  fairly  large,  upward  of  seventy  specimens 
being  shown,  but  it  could  hardly  be  called  represen- 


Io6       PLATE-ARMOR    AND  FIRE-ARMS 

tative.  The  most  valuable  specimen  is  the  small 
Italian  pennon  (Case  46 A)  which  was  presented  Mr. 
Riggs  about  1858  by  the  Marquis  de'  Medici  of  Turin 
with  the  record  that  it  had  belonged  to  Pope  Leo  X 
(about  1520),  whose  arms  it  bears.  A  part  of  a  fif- 
teenth-century banner  is  shown  in  Case  17,  which 
was  discovered  in  a  tomb  in  Valladolid  in  19 10.  It 
is  of  linen,  bearing  in  embroidery  a  blazon  and  a  series 
of  letter  S's  in  black  and  gold.  Still  another  early 
banner  is  carried  by  an  equestrian  figure.  The  re- 
maining objects  of  this  kind  in  the  collection  date 
from  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 
Around  the  main  hall  at  the  tops  of  the  columns  one 
notes : 

South  Side: 

Swiss  (or  Savoyard)  banner,  early  eighteenth 
century;  Spanish  banner,  eighteenth  century  (only 
a  part  authentic). 

East  Side: 

Swiss  banner,  eighteenth  century;  Swiss  banner, 
eighteenth  century;  Flemish  banner,  late  seven- 
teenth century;  Spanish  standard,  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

West  Side: 

Swiss  banner,  eighteenth  century;  Sienese  banner, 
eighteenth  century;  Flemish  banner,  dated  1823; 
Portuguese  banner,  eighteenth  century. 

North  Side: 

Venetian  banner,  eighteenth  century;  banner 
showing  the  arms  of  the  Medici,  early  eighteenth 


PLATE  LI 

PISTOLS,   XVI   AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
MAINLY  RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  91 


BANNERS  107 

century,  from  the  Villa  Toscana  of  the  former  arch- 
duke, Johann  of  Austria. 

In  the  long  north  gallery  the  following  banners 
appear: 

South  Side  (beginning  from  east  end) : 

French,  end  of  eighteenth  century;  French,  nine- 
teenth century;  EngHsh  (?),  seventeenth  century; 
Flemish,  seventeenth  century;  Flemish,  seventeenth 
century;  Sienese,  seventeenth  century. 

North  Side  (beginning  from  the  east  end) : 

French,  eighteenth  century;  Spanish,  eighteenth 
century;  Swiss  (or  Savoyard?),  eighteenth  century; 
Spanish,  eighteenth  century;  French,  eighteenth  cen- 
tury; Swiss  (or  Savoyard?),  eighteenth  century. 

An  interesting  banner  is  hung  in  the  corner  of  the 
main  gallery,  near  the  entrance  to  the  Japanese 
Armor  Hall:  it  was  carried  by  the  guard  of  Alexan- 
der VIII  about  1690. 


IX 


QUESTIONS  ABOUT  ARMOR:  ITS 
WEIGHT  AND  SIZE 

HOW  heavy  is  a  suit  af  armor?  Was  it  vastly 
uncomfortable?  Was  he  who  wore  it  smaller 
or  larger  than  the  average  man  today?  Was 
he  stronger  than  a  modern  athlete?  The  visitor  to 
the  armor  gallery  is  apt  to  ask  one  or  all  of  these 
questions,  which,  though  of  only  secondary  interest 
in  the  matter  of  art,  are  well  worth  answering.  Yes, 
armor  was  heavy:  a  complete  suit  weighed  from  fifty 
to  a  hundred  pounds,  and  a  horse  would  have  car- 
ried a  similar  weight  in  its  armor  alone.  In  the  best 
period  of  workmanship,  say  1450  to  1500,  a  harness 
weighed  least  in  proportion  to  the  protection  it 
offered.  Its  plates  were  graduated  in  thickness, 
heavy  only  at  the  points  most  exposed.  Still,  at 
the  best,  it  was  uncomfortable  to  wear.  Its  weight  in 
metal,  its  linings,  paddings,  fastenings,  together  with 
the  underclothing  which  accompanied  it,  made  it  a. 
hampering  and  heat-retaining  costume,  which  should 
be  worn  by  a  questioner  in  order  to  be  fully  appre- 
ciated. Shakespeare,  who  doubtless  knew  his  theme 
at  first  hand,  talks  of  "rich  armor  worn  in  heat  of 


PLATE  LII 

POWDER  HORNS,   XVI  AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 
SEE  PAGE  93 


QUESTIONS    ABOUT   ARMOR  IO9 

day  which  scalds  with  safety/'  But  we  must  admit 
that  most  of  the  heat  would  come  not  directly  from 
the  sun,  but  from  the  oxidizing  processes  of  the 
wearer;  for  bright  armor  reflects  heat  rays  like  a 
polished  mirror.  And  he  who  stands  in  front  of  a 
hot,  open  fire  and  puts  his  hand  on  the  cool,  bur- 
nished andirons,  will  not  expect  that  armor  in  itself 
would  "heat  up''  in  the  sunshine  and  thus  burn  the 
wearer.  The  trouble  was  rather  that  armor  did  not 
let  the  natural  heat  of  the  wearer  escape  by  radia- 
tion. So  he  perspired  freely — and  made  the  best  of 
it.  For  the  armor  gave  him  such  protection  in  time 
of  need  that  the  rest  did  not  count.  To  get  air  for 
breathing  was  a  serious  problem,  and  records  tell  us 
that  knights  sometimes  suffocated  in  their  helmets; 
for  with  visor  and  ventail  down  breathing  was  seri- 
ously hampered,  and  a  head-piece  which  could  be 
comfortably  worn  under  average  conditions  might 
become  dangerous  if  the  wearer  were  nearly  ex- 
hausted— when  his  breathing  was  rapid  and  super- 
ficial. Then,  too,  the  danger  was  greater  since  the 
head-piece,  which  was  put  in  place  securely  for  hard 
service,  was  sometimes  difficult  to  remove. 

In  this  regard,  I  recall  an  incident  which  is  so 
much  to  the  point  that  I  am  tempted  to  tell  it. 
During  the  Second  Empire,  a  distinguished  collector 
of  armor  appeared  at  the  Goupil  ball  in  a  complete 
suit  of  sixteenth-century  armor  (the  one,  by  the  way, 
in  Case  49).  It  fitted  him  admirably,  and  he  wore 
under  it  a  copy  of  the  clothing  which  would  orig- 
inally have  accompanied  it:  in  a  word,  his  physical 


no  QUESTIONS    ABOUT  ARMOR 

envelopes  were  accurately  ''of  the  period."  There- 
fore, if  armor  were  worn  with  moderate  comfort,  it 
should  have  been  demonstrated  in  this  case,  espe- 
cially since  the  wearer  was  then  in  his  prime  and  in 
good  training.  Nevertheless,  the  armor  proved  more 
than  burdensome:  it  seemed  to  gain  steadily  in  weight 
as  the  night  wore  on,  and  the  difficulty  in  breathing 
in  a  closed  helmet  became  ever  greater.  To  add  to 
his  distress,  the  wearer  found  at  a  critical  moment 
that  he  could  not  raise  his  visor — something  had 
gone  wrong  with  the  ancient  spring-clasp — and  he 
would  probably  have  been  overcome,  had  not  a  good 
friend  (who  by  the  way  was  Fortuny,  the  painter) 
come  to  his  rescue! 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  probably  true  that  after 
special  training  armor  can  be  worn  without  great 
effort.  Experiments  made  by  the  writer  convince 
him  that  the  weight  of  the  suit  is  distributed  in  the 
most  logical  way.  The  shoulders  bear  the  weight  of 
arm  defenses  and  casque,  the  waist  supports  the 
corselet  and  hip  guards,  and  the  thighs  retain  com- 
fortably the  leg  defenses.  One  does  not  realize  at 
first  how  heavy  a  weight  he  is  bearing.  And  his 
movements  are  singularly  free.  He  can  bend,  stoop, 
drop  to  his  knee,  and  use  his  arms  quite  normally. 
He  realizes  then  the  care  with  which  the  early  armorer 
devised  the  shape  and  joints  of  the  individual  plates 
so  that  the  greatest  latitude  of  movement  could  be 
given,  at  the  same  time  keeping  the  elements  of  the 
armor  close  to  the  body  and  insuring  the  maximum 
protection.    If  the  wearer  happens  to  be  a  zoologist. 


PLATE  LIII 
HORSE  ARMOR,   ABOUT  I 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  62 


QUESTIONS    ABOUT   ARM  OR  I  I  I 

he  feels  safe  in  suggesting  that  the  ancient  maker 
had  closely  studied  the  outward  anatomy  of  certain 
crustaceans. 

Training  was  certainly  necessary  if  armor  was  to 
be  borne  for  hours  at  a  stretch.  Thus  the  mediaeval 
soldier  spread  his  experience  out  over  considerable 
time;  he  began  his  training  during  boyhood  and  liter- 
ally grew  up  in  his  armor.  In  fact,  suits  of  armor 
for  boys  of  various  sizes  are  well  known — there  are 
no  less  than  five  of  them  in  the  present  gallery. 
This  constant  exercise,  we  may  fairly  conclude,  kept 
an  armored  knight  lean  and  active.  1 1  is  noteworthy 
indeed  how  large  a  proportion  of  the  harnesses  which 
have  come  down  to  us  are  made  for  men  with  narrow 
waists;  some  are  surprisingly  slender,  but  to  com- 
pensate for  this  the  shoulders  seem  to  have  been  of 
ample  width.  Thin  legs  and  small  ankles  were  com- 
mon among  wearers  of  armor,  in  numbers  which 
today  seem  unusual. 

As  to  the  size  of  the  men  who  wore  armor,  my 
conclusion  is,  after  measuring  fifty  or  more  harnesses, 
that  the  average  size  of  the  man  of  middle  or  higher 
class  (for  few  owned  armor  who  were  not  fairly  well- 
to-do)  was  smaller  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies than  it  is  today.  But  the  answer  to  this 
question  is  not  a  simple  one.  If  the  armor  studied 
were  all  from  a  single  country,  the  problem  would  be 
easier.  It  is  certainly  unfair  to  generalize  about  the 
increased  size  of  modern  Englishmen  from  data  con- 
cerning sixteenth-century  Spaniards.  Then,  too,  as 
Lord  Dillon,  long  time  director  of  the  Tower  armories. 


112  QUESTIONS    ABOUT  ARMOR 

poiats  out,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  height  of  the 
man  who  wore  the  armor  since  it  is  always  fair  to 
assume  that  the  armor  about  the  hips  may  have 
been  worn  higher  or  lower,  and  this  would  make 
possible  a  margin  of  error  of  several  inches  if  we 
attempt  to  estimate  the  height  of  a  person  from  the 
measurements  of  his  armor. 

Let  us  grant  that  the  wearer  of  ancient  armor  was 
a  smaller  man,  lean  and  active:  was  he  proportion- 
ately stronger  than  a  young  officer  today?  This 
again  is  a  question  which  cannot  be  answered  pre- 
cisely. We  believe  that  he  would  do  in  his  armor 
what  few  modern  athletes  could,  without  special 
training.  And  we  are  convinced  that  he  stood  the 
strain  longer  and  under  greater  mental  and  physical 
stress,  but  only  on  account  of  his  experience.  It  is 
clear  from  statistics,  at  least  as  far  back  as  statistics 
take  us,  that  modern  muscular  effort,  not  to  consider 
mental,  is  on  the  average  the  stronger.  The  revival 
of  international  athletic  games  has  brought  out 
clearly  that  the  modern  prizeman  breaks  earlier  rec- 
ords, even  in  throwing  the  discus  or  casting  a  javelin. 
Still,  it  would  be  interesting  to  see  if  today  the  aver- 
age officer,  English,  Spanish,  or  German,  could  vault 
over  his  charger  if  he  were  weighed  down  with  armor. 
Their  predecessors  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  cen- 
turies are  said  to  have  been  able  to  do  this,  but,  alas, 
there  was  no  Galton  in  those  days  to  record  precisely 
what  proportion  of  the  officers  were  successfully 
trained ! 


PLATE  LIV 
STIRRUPS,   XVI   AND  XVII  CENTURIES 
RIGGS  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  104 


X 


JAPANESE  ARMS  AND  ARMOR 

JAPAN  is  hardly  second  to  Europe  in  furnishing 
artistic  examples  of  Armor  and  Arms.  They  are 
more  accessible,  for  one  thing;  for  while  the  work 
of  the  European  armorer  virtually  ended  over  two 
centuries  ago,  armor  was  used  in  Japan  until  about 
1868,  when  the  ancient  feudal  regime  came  to  its  end. 
For  this  reason,  in  part — that  is,  since  Japanese 
armor  still  lingers  in  considerable  quantity,  and  more 
or  less  in  its  original  surroundings — we  may  examine 
it  from  many  points  of  view.  We  may  learn  how  it 
was  made  and  worn,  how  it  was  tested,  preserved, 
repaired,  decorated,  how  it  was  treasured,  what  was  its 
significance  in  the  community  and  upon  its  wearers — 
its  cult,  so  to  speak.  In  a  word,  we  may  know  arms 
and  armor  today  in  Japan  much  as  we  might  have 
known  them  in  Europe  had  we  lived  two  centuries 
ago,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  Japan  the  newer  cul- 
ture ruthlessly  cut  away  many  links  which  bound 
them  to  earlier  times.  Young  Japan,  indeed,  took 
no  pains  to  preserve  armor  and  arms,  still  less  to 
record  at  first  hand  the  great  body  of  ancient  mili- 

113 


114        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

tary  precepts;  and  with  complete  change  of  interest 
the  sons  of  samurai  grew  up,  knowing  nothing  of  the 
training  in  technical  matters  which  their  fathers  and 
grandfathers  regarded  as  of  real,  even  vital  impor- 
tance. I  remember  meeting  in  Japan  a  nobleman, 
who  was  a  daimyo,  de  jure,  of  the  highest  class,  whose 
forebears  included  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
personages  in  the  ancient  wars  of  Japan,  and  whose 
father,  he  told  me,  had  borne  armor,  but  who  him- 
self knew  as  little  about  it  as  though  it  had  become 
extinct  centuries  ago.  I  met  samurai  who  did  not 
know  the  manner  of  wearing  the  swords  of  their 
fathers,  who  in  their  day  would  probably  have  com- 
mitted suicide,  as  a  ceremonial  duty,  had  their  mili- 
tary equipment  been  officially  criticized.  So  quickly 
does  the  memory  of  details  die.  In  fact,  even  a  few 
years  ago  one  could  have  recorded  interesting  facts 
and  traditions  which  today  are  gone  forever.  In 
Japan,  in  1900,  I  found  there  were  still  living  several 
armorers,  including  a  member  of  the  historical  family 
of  Miochin,  all  of  whom  had  made  harnesses  for  ser- 
vice: when  I  revisited  Japan  five  years  later  these 
artists  had  died,  and  their  families,  who  were  poor, 
had  already  sold  for  a  trifle  the  old  sketches,  imple- 
ments, and  books. 

At  that  time  suits  of  armor  were  found  in  nearly 
every  curio-shop,  but  they  were  usually  of  late  period 
and  of  poor  quality.  Thus  in  one  shop  several  hun- 
dred suits  were  examined,  but  none  were  found  to  be 
worth  purchasing.  Good  armor  was  rare,  and  had 
been  rare  for  several  decades;  when  exceptional  ob- 


JAPANESE    ARMS    AND   ARMOR  II5 

jects  came  into  the  market  they  were  bought  up 
eagerly  by  the  few  amateurs. 

In  a  general  way  it  is  well  recognized  by  the 
Japanese  that  armor  for  many  centuries  proved  an 
excellent  groundwork  for  the  expression  of  their  art.. 
Thus  it  provides  some  of  the  best  examples  of  their 
metalwork,  whether  in  steel,  brgnze,  or  gold;  and 
for  its  mountings  it  introduces  some  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful textiles,  in  damasks,  cloth  of  gold,  and  braids, 
and  with  these  decorated  leather  of  great  merit, 
perhaps  the  best  of  its  kind.  Armor,  too,  has  ever 
been  a  medium  for  illustrating  heraldry,^  and  it 
teaches  hardly  in  less  degree  the  symbolism  and 
religion  of  ancient  Japan.  In  another  direction,  un- 
fortunately less  interesting  to  the  average  museum 
visitor,  the  armor  and  arms  of  Japan  give  important 
data  as  to  the  origin  and  development  of  the  culture 
of  Eastern  Asia,  and  as  to  the  relationships  of  its 
peoples. 

In  spite  of  these  attractions,  all  must  admit  that 
the  objects  in  this  field,  armor  especially,  have  as 
yet  been  given  but  little  attention  by  western  scholars 
and  by  lovers  of  Japanese  art.  But  they  will  also 
admit  that  they  have  seen  few  examples  important 
enough  really  to  interest  them.  Nevertheless, 
Japanese  sword-guards  and  swords  are  to  be  seen 
in  almost  every  city  in  the  world,  but  there  are  few 
among  them  which  rank  even  in  the  second  class. 
Arrow-points  and  lances  there  are  in  plenty,  almost 

1  Note  the  mon  (crests)  on  the  ceiling  of  the  Japanese  Gallery  and  com- 
pare the  explanatory  plate.  No.  LX. 


Il6        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

everywhere,  and  Japanese  suits  of  armor  by  the  score 
— of  late  date,  mainly  after  1750,  and  usually  of  poor 
or  uninteresting  workmanship.  In  spite  of  the 
abundance  of  these  objects  as  a  class,  relatively  few 
examples  of  the  best  quality  seem  to  have  found  their 
way  out  of  Japan.  It  is  safe,  indeed,  to  say  that, 
even  today,  these  objects  can  be  understood  to  good 
advantage  only  in  Japan,  since  here  one  fmds  both 
the  material  for  study  and  those  who  have  carefully 
studied  it.  The  most  valuable  collections  are  ex- 
hibited in  the  Imperial  museums  in  Tokyo  (both  at 
Ueno  Park  and  at  Yushiu-Kwan),  Kyoto,  and  Nara. 
There  are  also  a  few  interesting  specimens  at  the 
School  of  Fine  Arts  (Bizitsu-ln)  in  Tokyo.  But  many 
of  the  most  remarkable  and  earliest  objects  are  pre- 
served in  the  storehouses  of  temples,  Buddhist  or 
Shinto,  scattered  widely  throughout  Japan.  Such, 
for  example,  are  found  at  Nikko,  Miyanoshita, 
Matsushima,  Yamada  (Futami),  Chyusonji,  Yoshino, 
Koyasan,  Kyoto,  Kasuga  (Nara),  Sendai,  Itsuku- 
shima,  Kagoshima,  and  especially  at  the  ancient 
Shinto  shrine  of  Omishima.  Here  in  a  little  island 
in  the  inland  sea  are  still  large  numbers  of  harnesses 
and  arms  dating  between  1200  and  1 500,  which  were 
preserved  as  ex  votos.  Late  arms  and  armor  of  ex- 
cellent quality  can  be  seen,  by  the  courtesy  of  their 
owners,  among  the  treasures  of  princely  families, 
e.  g..  Date,  Ikeda,  Maida,  Tokugawa,  and  Uesugi. 
Private  collections  are  numerous  and  valuable, 
especially  in  Tokyo  and  Kyoto,  but  few  of  them  are 
representative. 


JAPANESEARMOR  II7 

For  our  present  review  we  may  consider  under 
distinct  headings: 
A  Armor 

B    Swords  (and  sword-guards)  and  Daggers 

C  Pole-arms 

D   Bows  and  Arrows 

E    Guns,  Pistols,  and  Cannon 

F    Horse  Armor 

A.     JAPANESE  ARMOR 

At  first  glance  Japanese  armor  seems  as  distinct 
from  European  as  the  East  is  from  the  West;  in  fact, 
this  is  what  one  might  have  predicted  without  having 
seen  the  armor,  guided  merely  by  the  general  prin- 
ciple that,  from  our  point  of  view,  the  Japanese  do 
everything  by  opposites.  Thus  their  armor  is  light, 
loose-fitting,  with  wide  shoulder  pieces,  separate  and 
dangling  skirts,  and  a  broad  neck  defense;  it  is  bright 
colored,  wonderfully  tissued  with  silken  braids  and 
cords,  and  set  off  with  leather  stamped  in  many  tones. 
In  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  armor  is  twice  or  thrice 
as  heavy  as  Japanese,  fastened  with  plain,  dull  straps, 
close-fitting  and  usually  of  uncolored  steel.  In  our 
present  exhibition  the  contrast  strikes  us  so  sharply  as 
we  pass  out  of  the  European  gallery  that  we  may 
well  query  what  has  caused  the  difference  in  type. 

We  find,  as  a  partial  explanation,  that  the  Japanese 
harness  is  an  instance  of  "arrested  development'' — 
for  the  rulers  of  Japan  were  for  centuries  conserva- 
tive; they  venerated  the  past  and  maintained  its 
military  customs  even  minutely.  To  them  the  golden 


Il8        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

age  in  heroism,  not  to  mention  that  in  beautiful  arts, 
dated  six  to  eight  centuries  ago.  The  armor  of  that 
age  was  the  best  that  had  been  made,  and  never, 
they  agreed,  had  better  use  been  made  of  it  than 
between  the  days  of  Yoshitsune  and  of  Nitta 
Yoshisada.  The  early  art  of  war  which  developed 
the  longbow,  long-spear,  and  long-sword  was  quite 
modern  enough,  and  such  devices  as  guns  or  heavy 
armor  in  the  European  style  were  looked  upon  with 
disfavor.  So  while  changes  did  occur,  they  were  apt 
to  be  in  details  of  equipment  rather  than  in  essentials. 
Indeed,  it  is  clear  that  the  type  of  Japanese  armor 
could  not  have  remained  long  unmodified  if  certain 
European  arms,  such  as  the  war  axe,  morgenstern,  or 
mace,  had  been  largely  used.  Somewhat  analogous 
forms  occurred,  it  is  true,  during  different  periods, 
but  their  use  seems  to  have  been  generally  discour- 
aged. The  local  horse,  too,  seems  to  have  helped  to 
maintain  the  armor  in  its  early  fashion.  For  it  was 
small  in  size,  like  many  insular  animals,  and  was  in- 
capable of  carrying  the  heavy-armed  European  knight 
— its  temper,  too,  appears  to  have  been  quite  irregu- 
lar, and  a  rider,  even  without  cumbersome  panoply, 
had  sometimes  enough  to  do  to  manage  it.  Then, 
too,  the  fashion  of  fighting,  which  was  maintained 
conservatively,  made  light  and  very  flexible  armor 
the  more  necessary:  this  hampered  its  wearer  as  little 
as  possible  in  the  use  of  the  noble  arms;  it  allowed 
him  intense  activity;  it  did  not  even  concede  him  a 
shield  as  an  excuse  for  slower  movements.  This 
armor  was,  in  short,  the  best  defensive  costume  which 


JAPANESE    ARMOR  I  I9 

the  adroit  Japanese  could  devise  against  the  use  of 
sabre,  spear,  and  arrow.  Hence  it  developed  as  a 
deftly  woven  complex  of  steel  plates,  leather  splints, 
and  chain-mail  held  together  by  rawhide  and  silk. 
It  was,  in  a  word,  reminiscent  of  the  panoply  which 
Europe  had  devised  during  the  twelfth,  thirteenth, 
and  early  fourteenth  centuries,  when  knights  wore 
banded  mail,  ailettes,  and  cuir-bouilli. 

Earliest  Arms  and  Armor 

Much  has  been  learned  of  the  earliest  military 
equipment  through  the  archaeological  studies  of  the 
past  three  decades.  During  this  time  the  Japanese 
governmental  experts  have  explored  numerous  tumuli 
and  their  findings  are  constantly  being  published  and 
analyzed.  Their  results  show  clearly  that  the  earliest 
arms  fall  into  at  least  three  groups:  (i)  aboriginal, 
which  is  largely  Ainu,  a  race  represented  today  only 
in  scattered  villages  in  the  northern  island  of  Japan, 
(2)  Malayan,  and  (3)  Chinese- Korean.  The  Ainu  ele- 
ment includes  to  a  large  degree  the  Stone  Age  fmds 
(Case 0. 9  A),  which  illustrate  celts,  arrow-points,  and 
war-hammers.  The  Malayan  element  left  its  type  of 
ornament  upon  early  swords  and  spears,  while  it  de- 
veloped such  military  customs  as  tattooing  and  head 
hunting — in  this  regard  we  may  mention  that  the 
Japanese  war  saddle  of  a  few  generations  ago  retained 
the  loops  from  which  the  heads  of  the  enemy  were  to 
be  hung.  The  Chinese- Korean  element  produced  the 
padded  garments  and  helmets  of  cloth,  the  type  of 
which  survives  in  the  costume  of  the  temple  dance. 


120        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

hungakuodori  (note  head-dress  near  Case  0. 41) ;  also 
in  jazerans  of  metal  plates  (Case  O.  40)  and  in  hal- 
berds. And  upon  these  various  foundations  the  Jap- 
anese built  up  their  national  equipment.  This  was  al- 
ready differentiated  both  in  bronze  and  iron  by  the 
seventh  century  A.D.,  as  numerous  "documents"  in- 
dicate. Especially  illuminating  upon  this  point  are 
the  pottery  figures,  isuchi-ntngyo  (Case  O.  7),  which 
are  found  in  numbers  on  tumuli  as  substitutes  for  hu- 
man sacrifices.  Thus  we  may  picture  (Plate  LV)  a 
Japanese  warrior  of  600  A.D.,  or  even  earlier,  as  bear- 
ing a  corselet  made  up  of  iron  plates  riveted  together, 
a  longish  casque  with  a  brow  peak,  built  up  of  radial 
bands  of  iron,  apron-like  thigh  defenses,  wide  shoul- 
der guards  (probably  of  leather),  and  leathern  arm 
defenses.  He  carried  a  longbow.  His  sword  was 
long,  straight,  single-edged,  having  a  pear-shaped 
pommel  and  an  ovate  guard.  He  sometimes  carried 
short  sword  and  dagger,  with  inconspicuous  guard 
and  pommel  (see  the  objects  in  Cases  O.  2  and  O.  3). 
It  may  be  noted  that  the  heavy  corselet  of  this  period 
opened  at  the  side,  a  large  plate  becoming  detached, 
thus  leaving  a  space  through  which  the  body  of  the 
wearer  could  be  admitted.  This  plate  survived  al- 
ways as  the  watagami  in  armor  of  the  princely  class 
(see  this  element  in  the  armor  in  Cases  O.  5  and 
O.  27). 

In  general,  however,  Japanese  armor  has  ever  been 
built  up  of  scales.  In  the  Bronze  Age  and  Early  Iron 
Age,  jazerans  (p.  25)  were  worn,  in  which  the  scales 
were  laced  together  at  their  sides.   By  this  procedure. 


PLATE  LV 
JAPANESE  ARMOR 
CENTURY   (or  EARLIER) 

SEE   PAGE  120 


JAPANESE    ARMOR  121 

they  were  arranged  in  bands  or  rows — somewhat  as 
we  have  seen  them  in  Roman  harnesses.  And  these 
rows  were  next  hung  one  above  the  other  by  cords 
of  doeskin,  cotton,  or  silk.  This  type  of  armor  was  in 
general  use  by  the  eleventh  century.  And  the  equip- 
ment of  this  period  we  can  the  better  understand 
since  specimens  have  been  preserved  in  Japan  which 
still  exhibit  the  various  trappings.  The  best  of  these 
specimens,  dating  from  the  Fujiwara  period  (roundly 
800-1 100  A.D.),  is  unquestionably  the  one  preserved 
in  the  Shinto  temple  of  Sugata-no-Miya.  (Plate  LVI.) 
Its  scales,  one  of  which  is  exhibited  in  Case  O.  9A,  are 
large,  made  of  heavy  lacquered  rawhide.  Its  breast 
defense  is  covered  with  stamped  leather;  it  has  four 
wide,  apron-like  hip-  and  thigh-defenses;  its  shoulders 
are  covered  by  square  shield-like  elements,  or  sode. 
Its  helmet  has  a  huge  neck  guard,  the  bands  of  which 
roll  outward  in  the  ear  region,  protecting  the  face 
at  the  sides;  the  bowl  of  the  helmet  is  heavy,  made 
up  of  about  eight  radial  elements:  as  an  ornament 
two  leaf-shaped  plates  arise  in  the  region  of  the  fore- 
head, like  horns,  or  antennae. 

From  this  time  onward  few  essential  changes  ap- 
pear in  Japanese  armor.  Thus  in  the  next,  or  the 
Kamakura  period  (i  100-1336),  as  we  know  both 
from  contemporary  drawings  and  from  actual  har- 
nesses, the  ceremonial  armor  {p-yoroi)  differed  little 
from  the  example  just  described.  In  the  present 
collection  this  may  benoted  (Case  O.  5,  Plate  LVI  I)  in 
a  remarkably  preserved  specimen,  apparently  the  only 
unrestored  one  of  its  kind,  which  came  to  light  in  the 


122        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

province  of  Tamba  some  years  ago.  Its  main  struc- 
tural difference  from  the  earlier  harness  is  in  its 
smaller  scales,  or  laminae,  in  their  greater  compact- 
ness, and  in  the  fact  that  they  are  alternately  leather 
and  iron,  instead  of  being  made  of  rawhide  only. 

Other  classes  of  armor  at  this  period  do  not  differ 
widely  from  the  o-yoroi.  It  is  even  probable  that  as 
such  they  existed  in  Fujiwara  times,  judging  from  the 
drawings  in  a  famous  manuscript  (now  in  the  pos- 
session of  Prince  Sakai,  the  Ban-dai-nagonsoshi) 
which  probably  dates  from  looo  A.D.  These  har- 
nesses, worn  by  people  of  lower  rank,  had  a  greater 
number  of  apron-like  thigh  plates  than  four,  i.  e.,  six, 
eight,  even  a  dozen;  some  of  the  corselets  opened  at 
the  side  {do-maru),  others  down  the  back  (hara- 
maki),  both  types  apparently  of  the  same  early  date. 
Those  in  the  present  collection  (Cases  O.  4,  6,  10,  39) 
are  mainly  from  the  collection  of  the  late  Professor 
Chitora  Kawasaki  of  the  Art  School  in  Tokyo.  Hel- 
mets in  the  Kamakura  period  are  generally  similar  to 
those  of  the  two  earlier  centuries:  their  iron  top,  or 
bowl,  was  made  up  of  radial  plates,  sometimes 
studded  with  large  rivet-heads;  the  neck  guard  was 
wide  and  its  sides  were  rolled  over  as  huge  ear-pieces, 
though  not  to  such  a  degree  as  in  earlier  examples. 
The  leaf-shaped  ornaments  on  the  brow  plate  some- 
times develop  extraordinary  length  during  this 
period.  The  arm  defenses  are  sleeves  of  cloth  rein- 
forced with  several  large,  flat  plates,  held  together 
with  mail.  On  the  legs  the  loose  trouser-like  cover- 
ings are  reinforced  with  rows  of  scales,  and  the  shin 


PLATE  LVI 
JAPANESE  ARMOR,   X  OR  XI  CENTURY 
FROM  TEMPLE  SUGATA-NO-MI YA 

SEE   PAGE  121 


JAPANESE    ARMOR  I23 

region  is  protected  with  wide  greaves  which  in  horse- 
man's armor  develop  great  defenses  which  project 
upward  and  backward,  so  as  to  protect  the  knees. 
Toward  the  end  of  this  period  the  rows  of  scales  com- 
posing the  armor  were  in  some  cases  replaced  with 
solid  bands  of  iron,  giving  the  type  of  harness  shown 
in  Case  O.  1 3.  This  shows  also  the  early  mask  which 
was  developed  as  a  defense  for  the  face,  resembling 
the  early  European  beaver  (p.  49),  rather  than  the 
visor,  which,  we  recall,  articulated  with  the  helmet. 

In  the  next  period,  that  of  the  Ashikaga  shoguns, 
between  1336  and  1600,  armor  developed  a  great 
variety  of  forms.  Some  of  them  are  seen  in  the  pres- 
ent gallery  (Cases  O.  15  and  16).  In  a  general  way, 
the  highest  types  of  armor  were  conservative,  the 
commonest  were  progressive.  Thus  an  o-yoroi  during 
Ashikaga  times  (Plate  LVIII)  might  be  confused  with 
a  Kamakura  harness:  so  also  the  do-maru  and  hara- 
maki  were  worn.  But  now  appeared,  especially  in  the 
later  years,  corselets  made  of  larger  plates.  Helmet 
bowls  were  built  up  of  a  greater  number  of  radial 
pieces,  or  were  formed  in  many  irregular  shapes, 
like  fruit,  shells,  or  head-dresses  (Cases  O.  44  and  45). 
The  neck  defenses  were  smaller  and  the  ear  ''tabs" 
greatly  reduced.  Masks  also  appeared  in  various 
forms  suggesting  the  faces  of  monkeys,  goblins,  swal- 
lows, also  human  faces,  young  and  old,  women's  as 
well  as  men's  (Case  O.  1 1).  At  this  period,  too,  chain- 
mail  was  more  frequently  used  in  the  defenses  of  legs 
and  arms.  Finally,  in  the  greater  use  of  metal  in  the 
exposed  parts  of  the  armor  there  arose  a  new  type  of 


124        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

decorative  treatment :  inlays  and  overlays  of  precious 
metals  appear,  and  the  beginnings  of  embossed  armor. 
From  this  time  dates  some  of  the  extant  work  of  the 
Miochin  family  of  artist-armorers,  whose  generations 
extend  back,  in  more  or  less  historical  continuity,  to 
the  thirteenth  century. 

During  the  Tokugawa  period  (1600- 1868)  Japanese 
armor  became  decadent  and  finally  went  out  of  use. 
This  was  a  time  of  peace,  but  it  was  an  armed 
peace  which  the  shoguns  safeguarded  by  the  most 
carefully  planned  feudal  measures  which  the  world 
has  seen.  They  made  it  a  rule,  for  one  thing,  as  a 
means  of  keeping  the  ''units"  of  the  empire  in  close 
touch  with  the  government,  that  each  governor  or 
daimyo  should  leave  his  province  at  stated  periods 
and  make  his  headquarters  at  the  capital,  Tokyo, 
or  Yedo,  as  it  was  then  called.  This  rule  was  strictly 
enforced  for  over  two  centuries  and  one  can  easily 
understand  what  an  influence  it  exerted  in  the  devel- 
opment of  arms  and  armor,  since  it  focused  upon 
them  the  attention  of  everybody;  for,  summer  or  win- 
ter, early  and  late,  all  roads  in  Japan,  leading  to  or 
from  Yedo,  were  apt  to  be  thronged  with  processions 
in  which  one  saw  armored  men  of  every  degree,  cere- 
monial guards,  brightly  caparisoned  stallions  (Case 
O.  38),  long  spears  with  ornamental  heads,  shafts, 
and  sheaths  (wall  trophies),  waving  banners  of  many 
colors,  bearing  crests  and  devices  (racks  on  east  wall), 
and  long  files  of  retainers,  whose  harnesses  were  cov- 
ered with  bright  surcoats  {jim-hauri,  framed  on  south 
wall)  and  who  wore  as  helmets  flattish  head-pieces 


PLATE  LVII 
JAPANESE  ARMOR,   ABOUT  1200 
DEAN  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGE  121 


JAPANESE    ARMOR  I25 

(jingasa,  on  west  wall).  The  times,  in  a  word,  fa- 
vored display,  and  armor  became  developed  in  a  thou- 
sand different  ways.  Variations  appeared  even  in 
details:  each  province  produced  its  fashion  in  colors, 
forms,  tissues,  kinds  of  metalwork  and  lacquer.  And, 
complicating  the  situation  even  more,  the  styles 
changed  constantly.  The  armorer,  accordingly,  took 
upon  him  more  and  more  the  functions  of  a  court 
costumer.  And  as  his  work  was  rarely  expected  to 
stand  the  test  of  actual  battle,  he  naturally  econo- 
mized in  the  quality  of  his  metalwork,  which  was  his 
costliest  item,  and  was  lavish  in  lacquer,  bright 
braids,  and  helmet  ornaments  (Cases  O.  26-28,  32- 
35).  Where  he  attempted  work  of  costliest  type,  as 
in  embossing,  his  results  were  decadent  (see  harness 
by  Miochin  Munechika,  Case  O.  17).  His  wealthy 
patrons  favored  intricate  designs,  overlays  of  precious 
metals,  sometimes  in  a  fanciful  taste,  which  suggests 
a  parallel  with  the  rococo  of  the  Europe  of  those 
days.  Sometimes,  too,  a  Japanese  daimyo,  like  the 
seigneur  of  the  court  of  Louis  XIV,  would  wear  a 
"fortune  on  his  back,"  and  such  princely  suits  of 
armor  have  even  today  maintained  in  Tokyo  or 
Kyoto  a  price  so  high  that  few  of  them  have  ever 
found  their  way  out  of  Japan  (Cases  O.  22,  9,  sleeves). 
In  general,  however,  armor  under  the  Tokugawa 
shoguns  was  light,  cheaply  made,  and  showy.  And 
at  this  time,  especially  from  1750  to  1850,  great  num- 
bers of  suits  were  made  and  are  still  preserved.  In 
fact,  nearly  all  the  Japanese  armor  exhibited  in 
shops  and  museums  dates  from  this  time — in  as 


126        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

large  a  proportion,  perhaps,  as  nine  examples  out 
of  ten. 

Some  of  the  features  which  appear  in  armor  of  this 
period  are  helmets  with  small  ear  pieces,  with  close- 
fitting  neck  defense,  and  with  bowl  made  up  of  many 
radial  splints — there  are  over  a  hundred  in  a  speci- 
men in  Case  O.  39;  shoulder  defenses  and  apron-like 
thigh  guards,  small,  often  strengthened  with  single 
plates;  armor  for  legs  and  arms,  light  and  flexible, 
largely  made  up  of  chain-mail.  But  in  these  matters 
one  can  set  down  no  general  rules,  for  the  suits  of 
high  grade  are  conservative,  and  corselets  and  head- 
pieces still  appear  which  resemble  the  armor  of  Kama- 
kura  times  (Case  O.  27).  Only  by  decadent  workman- 
ship and  by  study  of  details  does  one  see  that  they 
are  of  quite  modern  make.  Some  of  these  features  are 
shown  even  in  early  Tokugawa  times,  as  in  the  har- 
ness of  Date  Masamune^  (died  1636)  of  Sendai  (Plate 
LIX),  which  appears  as  his  eifigy  in  the  memorial 
temple  at  Matsushima.  In  this  example  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  heavy  plastron  suggests  a 
European  model. 

It  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  during  Prince  Date's 
time  that  European  influence  was  making  itself 
strongly  felt.  Portuguese  traders  were  visiting  cer- 
tain ports,  missionaries  had  made  vast  numbers  of 
converts,  and  the  Dutch  were  opening  a  ''factory'' 
near  Nagasaki.  So  it  is  not  surprising  that  European 

1  This  prince  was  a  formidable  rival  of  the  Tokugawa,  and  perhaps 
the  most  brilliantly  cultured  Japanese  of  his  day;  he  was  litterateur, 
engineer,  artist,  general,  diplomat.  In  the  last  regard  he  is  remembered 
as  having  sent  a  mission  to  Spain  and  Rome. 


PLATE  LVIII 
JAPANESE  ARMOR,  ASHIKAGA  PERIOD 
XVI  CENTURY 
FROM   KOSUGA  TEMPLE,  NARA 

SEE   PAGE  123 


JAPANESE    SWORDS  I27 

arms  and  armor  were  imported,  and  that  bits  of 
Dutch  red  felt  and  stamped  leather  begin  to  appear 
in  Japanese  equipments.  The  Japanese  were,  au 
fond,  just  as  enterprising  then  as  today:  in  this 
particular  matter  we  know  that  they  appreciated  the 
technical  excellence  of  European  armor  and  were 
quite  capable  of  changing  their  entire  system  of  war- 
fare had  the  shoguns  permitted  it.  They  knew,  for 
example,  that  the  ''foreign  iron"  (nam-han  tetsu)  was 
better  than  the  Japanese  (for  they  liked  to  test  it 
with  musket-ball),  just  as  they  knew  that  foreign 
sword-blades  were  inferior  to  their  own.  And  they 
adopted  as  much  of  the  western  fashion  as  suited 
their  needs.  They  bought  eagerly  European  cabas- 
sets  and  morions  and  adapted  them  to  their  styles 
(Cases  O.  44,  45),  transferring  the  plume-holder  from 
the  back  of  the  cabasset  to  the  front.  They  evidently 
appreciated  the  virtues  of  the  European  peascod 
corselet,  which  they  called  ''pigeon-breasted"  {hato- 
mune),  for  they  used  and  copied  it  frequently  (middle 
panoply,  west  wall). 

From  this  period  date  many  Japanese  books  and 
manuscripts  on  armor,  and  the  reader  who  is  in- 
terested may  fmd  in  them  how  armor  was  worn,  and 
what  was  the  meaning  of  the  various  "crests," 
shaped  as  suns  and  moons,  shells,  plants,  horns  and 
monstrous  animals. 

B.   JAPANESE  SWORDS 

It  is  difficult  for  a  foreigner  to  understand  how  an 
old-time  Japanese  venerated  his  sword.    His  feeling 


128        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

toward  it  was  a  part  of  his  cult,  sentimental,  religious, 
ethical,  somewhat  like  that  of  a  knight  of  the  early 
Middle  Ages,  who  named  his  sword,  personified  it, 
and  expected  it  in  some  mysterious  way  to  give  him 
*'signs,"  or  to  leap  out  of  the  sheath  and  bury  itself 
in  his  enemy.  Even  today  a  Japanese  gentleman 
of  the  old  school  is  not  apt  to  talk  of  his  swords,  much 
less  to  show  them:  if  he  can  be  persuaded  to  bring 
them  out,  it  is  a  sign  that  the  visitor  is  accepted  as 
an  intimate  friend.  A  sword  is  carried  into  the  room 
in  silken  wrappings,  sometimes  in  its  ancient  lac- 
quered box,  and  is  unwrapped  with  no  little  care. 
It  is  usually  protected  with  a  simple  wooden  sheath 
and  with  a  plain  wooden  handle.  Its  owner  will 
pass  it  with  due  ceremony  to  the  visitor,  who  receives 
it  in  both  hands,  which  are  held  palrtl  upward.  He 
must  handle  it  reverently,  ask  permission  to  see  the 
blade,  and  when  this  is  given,  slowly  draw  it  from 
its  sheath,  examining  the  steel  inch  by  inch  as  it 
appears,  but  he  must  always  take  pains  to  hold  the 
razor-like  edge  toward  himself.  When  the  blade  is 
nearly  exposed,  he  must  again  obtain  permission  if 
he  would  see  the  point — for  etiquette  does  not  pre- 
scribe drawing  a  sword  in  the  house  of  a  friend.  Of 
course  the  blade  is  not  touched  with  the  visitor's 
bare  hand:  he  produces  at  the  right  moment  his 
mulberry-fiber  handkerchief,  in  which  the  blade  may 
be  handled. 

The  blade  of  the  sword  is  the  prized  possession. 
It  was  the  ''soul"  of  the  ancient  samurai,  as  the 
shogun  leyasu  said;  it  typified  his  honor;  and  one 


PLATE  LIX 

ARMOR   OF   THE    EARLY   TOKUGAWA    PERIOD,    ABOUT  163O 
FROM   EFFIGY  OF  DATE  MASAMUNE  (SENDAl) 
SEE   PAGE  126 


JAPANESE    SWORDS  I29 

may  learn  with  what  ceremonies  it  was  made,  tested, 
acquired,  used,  inherited.  Its  makers  were  among 
the  greatest  artists  of  Japan,  and  authentic  blades  of 
well-known  masters  were  ever  and  are  sold  for  prices 
which,  even  today,  the  wealthiest  foreigner  usually 
declines  to  pay.  To  know  the  names  of  the  cele- 
brated sword-artists  and  their  work  was  a  part  of 
the  regular  training  of  the  samurai.  And  the  study 
is  so  difficult  that  few,  indeed,  there  are  today  who 
have  mastered  it.  Thus  a  great  expert  in  Tokyo, 
high  in  the  sword  society  (To- Ken  Kwai)  there,  de- 
clares that  no  one  should  buy  a  blade  who  has  not 
studied  the  best  examples  throughout  Japan  for  at 
least  ten  years !  1 1  appears  that  the  works  of  famous 
makers  were  copied  and  signed  fraudulently  even  in 
ancient  times — almost  in  the  years  when  the  masters 
themselves  were  living.  Among  the  famous  sword- 
artists  one  recalls  the  names  of  Norimune  (twelfth 
century),  Masamune  and  Yoshimitsu  (thirteenth  cen- 
tury), and  Muramasa  (fourteenth  century),  whose 
blades  thirsted  for  blood,  and  should  not,  as  a 
means  of  preventing  accident,  be  entirely  drawn  from 
the  scabbard!  In  Case  O.  40  are  examples  of  these 
artists'  works  which  are  believed  to  be  authentic: 
they  have  been  obtained  from  the  collection  of 
Professor  Frederick  M.  Pedersen.  Especially  beau- 
tiful is  the  texture  of  the  blade,  which  is  character- 
istic for  each  master,  sometimes  recognized  by  lines 
of  color  in  the  metal,  or  by  the  peculiar  wavy  line 
(yakiba)  formed  in  tempering,  where  the  steel  mar- 
gin of  the  blade  joins  the  iron  back,  or  core.  Some- 


130        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

times  there  is  a  wavy  texture  in  the  layers  of  steel  of 
different  colors  throughout  the  blade,  in  the  style 
widely  known  to  Europeans  from  its  development  in 
Damascus.    (See  p.  140.) 

Kinds  of  Swords 

There  are  three  well-defmed  kinds  of  Japanese 
swords:  the  long  sword  {katana),  the  short  sword 
{wakiiashi) ,  and  the  dagger-sword  (tanto) — types 
shown  with  numerous  examples  in  Case  O.  42.  Each 
is  single-edged,  slightly  curved,  or  sabre-like,  and  all 
are  similar  in  manner  of  mounting.  The  long  and 
short  swords  together  form  the  familiar  pair  of  swords 
(daisho),  carried  (until  1877)  by  all  Japanese  of  the 
military  caste.  The  longer  was  the  fighting  sword, 
the  shorter  was  used  as  a  supplemental  arm,  or  in 
the  supreme  distress  of  its  owner,  for  ceremonial  sui- 
cide (hara-kiri),  although  in  the  latter  rite  the  dagger- 
sword  (tanto)  was  given  the  preference,  at  least  dur- 
ing the  last  centuries.  The  mountings  of  the  swords 
when  carried  as  a  pair  were  often  alike,  and  everyone 
who  collects  sword  furniture  recalls  the  sets  of  "  twin'* 
sword-guards  and  similar  objects,  which  have  been 
offered  him  for  purchase.  The  dagger-sword  is  usu- 
ally without  a  guard  and  is  so  small  that  it  can  be 
carried  concealed.  Additional  types  of  swords  are 
known,  but  they  are  relatively  rare.  Thus,  the  long 
sword  of  a  daimyo  usually  has  a  slender  blade  and  is 
mounted  in  the  ancient  hanging  style  (tachi).  Two- 
edged  swords  are  also  known,  some  quite  primitive 
in  form  but  often  of  late  date  (Case  O.  40).    So,  too, 


JAPANESE    SWORDS  I3I 

eccentric  types  are  described  which  were  carried 
singly  by  Japanese  of  the  artistic  or  professional 
classes:  a  physician,  for  example,  carried  a  short 
sword  which  either  lacked  a  metal  blade  or  had  one 
of  a  type  which  could  not  well  be  used. 

Sword  Furniture 

Every  samurai  household  is  still  apt  to  have 
tucked  away  in  the  storeroom  a  box  made  up  like  a 
nest  of  shallow  trays,  containing  sword  "furniture," 
or  the  various  trappings  with  which  the  family  sword- 
blades  were  mounted.  Such  a  box  contains  disk- 
shaped  sword-guards  (tsuba)  and  other  metal  mount- 
ings of  the  hilt,  such  as  the  ferrule-like  pommels 
(kashira),  ring-bands  (fuchi),  and  ornate  peg-heads 
(menuki)  which  attach  the  blade  to  the  handle. 
Here  also  are  small  "paper  knives''  (koiuka)  having 
flat,  decorated  handles,  and  skewers  (kogai),  the  latter 
serving  as  hair  pins.  Both  were  tucked  into  the  sides 
of  the  sword-sheath.  The  kozuka  could  be  thrown 
with  great  precision  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  a 
formidable  weapon,  readily  striking  a  mark,  e.  g.,  the 
eye-hole  of  an  armor-mask,  at  a  range  of  ten  feet. 
The  kogai,  or  skewer,  it  may  be  remarked,  had  a 
curious  function:  it  was  left  with  a  slain  enemy  as 
a  mark  of  identification,  and  later  thrust  into  the 
ear-hole  of  the  severed  head,  to  serve  as  a  handle 
in  carrying  the  trophy.  Occasionally  the  kogai  is 
formed  of  halves  and  could  be  used  as  chop-sticks 
(hashi),  not  however  for  knife  and  fork,  but  as  cere- 
monial tweezers,  to  handle  ashes  or  incense. 


1 32        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

Sword  mountings  played  an  important  part  in  the 
training  of  the  Japanese  of  the  highest  classes.  They 
formed  a  part  of  his  daily  life,  they  were  frequently 
changed,  and  wealthy  men  are  said  to  have  had 
sufficient  "stock''  in  reserve  to  allow  favorite  swords 
to  appear  in  different  dress  each  day  in  the  year.  It 
is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the  best  artists  were 
employed  to  design  and  execute  them  and  that  their 
decorative  treatment  should  be  developed  differently 
at  different  times  and  in  various  parts  of  Japan. 
There  grew  up  a  vast  lore  as  to  sword  furniture,  and 
families  of  tsuba  artists  rose  and  flourished.  Every 
young  samurai  knew  the  names  of  some  of  these 
artists  and  the  character  of  their  work.  He  knew 
that  Noboui'ye  and  the  Kaneiye  made  the  most 
beautiful  iron  guards;  that  the  Goto  were  famous 
for  their  tsuba  showing  golden  lions  or  dragons; 
that  the  Kinai  pierced  their  guards  sharply  with 
crests,  flowers,  leaves,  and  fruit.  And  the  fame  of 
these  artists  remained  not  alone  at  home:  when 
Japan  was  opened  to  foreign  commerce,  Europeans 
and  Americans  collected  their  works  eagerly.  In 
New  York,  for  example,  there  are  now  several  repre- 
sentative collections,  one  of  which,  that  of  Mrs. 
Adrian  H.  Joline,  has  recently  been  presented  to  the 
Metropolitan  Museum  (Case  O.  43). 

C.  POLE-ARMS 

The  Japanese  were  artists  in  the  use  of  the  spear. 
One  can  form  an  idea  of  the  popularity  of  this  arm 
when  he  notes  how  many  spear-racks  are  still  present 


POLE-ARMS  1 33 

in  Japanese  houses  and  discovers  how  many  manuals 
for  the  use  of  fencing  with  the  spear  can  still  be 
picked  up  in  local  bookstalls.  The  Japanese  did 
not,  however,  develop  the  great  variety  in  pole-arms 
which  is  known  in  Europe.  The  typical  form  was 
a  spear  having  a  stout,  long  head,  quadrangular  in 
section,  ending  somewhat  bluntly.  A  second  type 
was  vaguely  halberd-like,  having  a  somewhat  cross- 
shaped  head.  A  third  had  a  sword-shaped  blade,  or 
naginata  (in  the  use  of  which  women  were  sometimes 
trained).  And  a  fourth  was  a  ponderous  wide-bladed 
affair  which  suggests  less  a  pole-arm  than  the  double- 
handed  sword  of  Europe.  Slight  variants  occur  in 
these  types,  but  in  a  general  way  they  include  prac- 
tically all  pole-arms  in  use  in  Japan  for  over  eight 
centuries  (see  rack  on  west  wall).  In  this  list,  how- 
ever, one  does  not  consider  the  "halberds,''  Chinese 
in  type,  having  hooks,  neck-rings,  and  the  like;  for 
these  may  be  looked  upon  as  exotic.  These  forms 
were  sometimes  seen  in  racks  in  the  gate  house  of  a 
daimyo's  palace. 

Japanese  long-spears  were  beautiful  weapons  both 
in  design  and  workmanship.  The  heads  were  fash- 
ioned with  the  same  precision  as  sword-blades  and 
were  as  carefully  signed  by  their  makers,  respecting 
whom  there  is  a  considerable  literature.  The  shafts 
are  models  of  strength  and  lightness.  Made  of  hard 
wood  of  many  kinds,  they  have  excellent  grips,  and 
are  finished  with  lashings  in  the  Malayan  style  and 
with  ferrules  sometimes  richly  ornamented.  It  can 
safely  be  said  that  nowhere  in  Europe  was  known 


1 34        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

this  degree  of  refinement  in  the  mounting  of  pole- 
arms. 

D.   BOWS  AND  ARROWS 

The  bow  is  an  arm  which  for  centuries  appealed 
strongly  to  the  Japanese  temper.  It  required  dex- 
terous arm  muscles,  keen  sight,  and  quick  judgment, 
well  suited  to  an  art-loving  race.  It  was  found  in 
the  hands  of  all  Japanese,  prince  and  peasant,  old 
and  young.  In  course  of  time  it  became  modified 
in  form  and  use  in  many  directions;  all  manner  of 
bows  were  known,  some  small  and  delicate  for  short 
range,  fashioned  as  instruments  of  precision,  some 
large  and  heavy,  suited  for  throwing  heavy  arrows 
great  distances  (see  rack  on  north  wall).  They  were 
made  of  a  great  variety  of  elastic  materials,  and  were 
"  lashed in  many  ways  and  elaborately.  Their  shape 
when  strung  showed  wide  differences;  some  bows 
were  boldly  crescentic,  others  irregular;  a  common 
form  was  much  longer  and  more  widely  curved  above 
the  "arrow  line,''  so  that  the  archer,  holding  the 
shorter  end  of  the  bow  downward,  could  have  the 
advantage  of  a  bow  of  the  greatest  length  recorded. 
In  a  word,  the  Japanese  as  bowmen  were  certainly 
unrivaled  in  recent  centuries,  and  were  probably  more 
skilful,  so  far  as  can  be  judged  from  early  records, 
than  the  Turkish  archers  of  the  fifteenth  century  or 
the  English  of  the  fourteenth.  It  is  interesting,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  they  never  developed  the  use  of 
the  crossbow.  This  arm  occasionally  occurs,  it  is 
true,  but  a  really  serviceable  example  is  unknown 
from  Japan.    In  the  present  collection  a  single  cross- 


GUNS,    PISTOLS,    AND   CANNON  I35 

bow  is  represented,  but  it  is  rather  Chinese  in  form 
than  Japanese.  1 1  is  a  "magazine "  or  repeating  type, 
provided  with  a  lever  which  drew  the  bow  and  pushed 
the  bolts  into  place  in  rapid  succession  (Case  O.  12). 

With  the  development  of  the  bow  the  arrow  under- 
went a  series  of  extraordinary  changes.  In  fact,  in 
no  other  country  are  there  so  many  varieties  of 
arrows.  Even  from  prehistoric  times  they  were 
fashioned  for  the  most  varied  purposes,  ranges,  and 
wind-conditions.  As  objects  of  art,  moreover,  they 
were  given  great  attention.  The  heads,  especially, 
show  beautiful  forms,  elaborate  designs,  and  exquisite 
workmanship:  some  are  pierced  boldly,  others  are  a 
lacework  of  steel,  others  again  are  marvels  of  chisel 
work,  carved  with  flowers,  dragons,  or  gods.  In  the 
field  of  arrow-points  (yano-ne)  there  exists  an  exten- 
sive Japanese  literature  (Case  O.  41). 

It  is  not  unnatural  that  there  should  have  ap- 
peared at  the  same  time  a  series  of  archer's  acces- 
sories. Quivers  were  made  in  many  forms  (panoply 
on  north  wall),  some  box-like,  others  like  racks, 
others  still  like  baskets  beautifully  woven.  So,  too, 
there  were  exquisite  reels,  formed  of  twisted  or  plaited 
bamboo,  in  which  the  archer  coiled  his  additional 
bowstrings.  Then  there  were  archer's  gloves  in  pro- 
fusion, some  of  them  excellent  examples  of  work  in 
stamped  leather  (Case  O.  12). 

E.  GUNS,  PISTOLS,  AND  CANNON 

The  use  of  gunpowder  was  never  developed  broadly 
in  Japan,  for  one  reason,  doubtless,  since  fire-arms 


1 36        JAPANESE    ARMS    AND  ARMOR 

were  not  given  a  high  place  in  feudal  warfare.  Guns 
were  in  common  use,  it  is  true,  during  the  century 
preceding  the  formal  opening  of  the  country  to  for- 
eign commerce,  but  these  arms  followed  the  style  of 
the  matchlock  which  was  introduced  in  Japan  by  the 
Portuguese  navigators  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In 
the  various  guns  (Case  O.  12)  which  are  known  from 
Japan,  details  may  differ,  as  in  proportion,  ornaments, 
weight  of  barrel,  but  the  general  plan  is  ever  the  same. 
After  the  expedition  of  Commodore  Perry  (1853), 
however,  new  types  appeared,  such  as  revolvers, 
including  both  guns  and  pistols,  some  keeping  the 
matchlocks,  others  introducing  percussion  caps.  In 
many  instances,  they  became  eccentric  in  fashions. 
Thus  barrels  were  formed  of  coils  of  wire. 

Cannon  in  Japan  were  heavy  in  outline,  copied  evi- 
dently from  the  forms  introduced  by  Europeans  dur- 
ing the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries. 

F.  HORSE  ARMOR 

Japanese  warfare  must  have  proved  fatal  to  horses, 
for  their  cavalry  was  in  constant  use,  arrows  were 
shot  in  clouds,  and  the  horses  were  unarmored.  Not 
until  the  Tokugawa  period  when  warfare  practically 
ceased  was  the  horse  given  adequate  armor.  In 
earlier  times  horse  frontals  appeared  and  heavy  trap- 
pings of  silk,  although  the  latter  could  hardly  have 
been  of  great  value  as  a  defense.  In  Tokugawa 
times,  however,  when  parades  were  constant,  horse 
trappings  formed  a  splendid  medium  for  display. 
Housings  were  common,  to  be  compared  in  a  general 


HORSEARMOR  1 37 

way  with  the  neck-,  chest-,  and  rump-defenses  of  the 
European  horse.  They  were  made  up  of  squares  or 
scales  formed  of  hardened  leather  or  of  steel,  and 
were  often  brightly  colored,  gilded,  silvered,  or  lac- 
quered in  red  and  black  (Cases  O.  36  and  37,  and 
panoplies  on  north  wall).  Horse  frontals,  too,  were 
in  constant  use,  these  sometimes  shaped  as  the  faces 
of  monsters,  splendid  with  feelers  and  crests.  Japa- 
nese saddles  (Cases  O'.  36,  37,  41)  are  well  known 
in  art  museums  everywhere.  They  are  usually 
decorated  lavishly.  In  general,  they  are  of  Chinese 
form,  but  they  are  sometimes  small  and  lightly 
modeled,  suggesting  the  compact  wooden  army  saddle 
of  our  western  troopers.  Japanese  stirrups,  like  the 
saddles,  are  often  richly  ornamented.  From  early 
times  they  developed  their  typical  crescentic  form, 
without  sides,  which  was  found  eminently  practical. 
They  were  heavy,  were  not  'Most''  as  readily  as  the 
western  stirrup,  and  could  not  catch  the  foot  of  the 
rider  and  drag  him  along,  as  sometimes  happens  with 
the  European  stirrup.  In  the  present  collection  (Case 
O.  41)  the  earliest  saddle  dates  from  late  Kamakura 
or  early  Ashikaga  times,  resembling  closely  a  speci- 
men preserved  in  the  museum  in  Kyoto.  An  idea  of 
the  ceremonial  trappings  of  the  Japanese  horse  may  be 
had  by  examining  the  model  of  a  horse  bearing  its 
equipment,  prepared  about  1 780  by  order  of  a  daimyo 
of  Inaba. 


XI 


ARMS  AND  ARMOR  OF  THE  EAST 
Arab  (Saracenic),  Turkish,  Persian, 


'7/  y  en  a,  il  y  ena  eu,  il  y  en  aura  toujour s.'*  Carrand  pere 


always  will  be,''  he  showed  an  old-fashioned  collec- 
tor's disdain  for  whatever  was  Asiatic.  He  knew 
that  armor  was  still  being  made  in  that  no  man's 
land  where  the  West  disappears  in  the  East,  where 
artists  are  working  in  the  same  places,  and  with  the 
same  patient  methods  which  they  used  when  the 
Crusades  were  young.  Carrand,  together  with  his 
collector-friends,  could  not  appreciate  these  Oriental 
objects  and  did  not  wish  to  study  them;  still  he 
realized  in  a  way  their  position  with  respect  to  Euro- 
pean arms — the  latter  were  progressive,  the  former 
conservative.  If  one  wished  to  understand  details, 
Carrand  admitted,  let  him  go  to  the  East  ("cherche^ 
toujour s  V Orient'').  Thus,  if  one  sees  tomb-figures 
in  Europe  showing  curious  mail,  like  the  banded 


Indian,  Chinese 


HEN,  sixty  years  ago,  Mr.  Riggs's  pre- 
ceptor declared,  "There  are  Oriental 
arms,  there  ever  have  been,  and  there 


PLATE  LXI 

HISPANO-ARAB   SWORD,   END  OF  XV  CENTURY 
TURKISH  CASQUES,   XV  AND  XVI  CENTURIES 
DE  DINO  COLLECTION 

SEE   PAGES    12,    I42,    1 44 


ARMS    AND   ARMOR   OF   THE    EAST     1 39 

mail  of  fourteenth-century  crusaders,  he  can  under- 
stand how  it  was  made  and  worn  by  examining  the 
mail  of  Turkey,  Persia,  or  India.  In  fact,  practices 
in  armor-making  extinct  in  Europe  can  be  explained 
today  only  by  visits  to  the  few  surviving  armor- 
makers  in  these  countries. 

In  Carrand's  day  Oriental  armor  and  arms  were 
to  be  found  everywhere;  the  shops  of  Paris  and 
London  were  stocked  with  admirable  specimens 
dating  from  many  periods.  A  vessel  ballasted  from 
the  ancient  storehouse  in  Constantinople  had  brought 
to  Europe  hundreds  of  head-pieces  of  janissaries  and 
piles  of  their  "saucepan-lid''  breastplates,  and  had 
made  them  a  drug  in  the  market.  Even  today  one 
is  apt  to  fmd  in  out-of-the-way  shops  specimens  hav- 
ing this  provenance — and  one  still  sees  beautifully 
wrought  plastrons,  fluted  in  Maximilian  style,  dat- 
ing from  the  time  of  Mahomet  the  Conqueror  and 
deeply  stamped  with  the  mark  of  the  St.  Irene 
armory,  which  can  be  bought  for  a  few  shillings.  In  a 
general  way,  however,  the  world  has  changed  since 
Carrand's  time.  Collectors  there  are  now  who  are 
specialists  in  the  armor  of  the  Near  East,  who  know 
its  varieties  and  periods  and  love  the  art  of  its  ancient 
makers.  This  quickening  of  interest  has  been  due  to 
many  things,  but  mainly  to  the  spread  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  Mohammedan  art  fostered  by  special  exposi- 
tions, e.  g.,  in  Cairo,  Madrid,  Munich,  Berlin,  and 
South  Kensington.  Thus  it  is  widely  known  that 
Mohammedan  metalwork  reached  a  high  point  of 
development  during  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 


140    ARMS    AND   ARMOR   OF   THE  EAST 

centuries.  The  quality  of  its  metal  was  then  excel- 
lent and  much  of  it  was  of  a  peculiar  fibrous  or  closely 
layered  texture  which  is  best  known  in  Damascus 
steel. 

In  a  sense,  however,  the  term  ''Damascus  steel" 
is  a  misnomer:  it  commonly  refers  to  any  kind  of 
Oriental  laminated  or  ''watered"  steel,  i.  e.,  pro- 
duced throughout  all  Arab  countries  as  well  as  in 
Turkey,  Persia,  India,  Japan,  and  Malay  countries. 
Even  in  Europe  it  was  made  for  the  "twist"  gun 
barrels  of  England,  France,  and  Germany.  This 
metal  with  its  beautifully  wavy  texture  appears  to 
have  been  formed  in  a  variety  of  ways  (see  von  Lenz, 
Zeitschrift  fiir  Historische  WafTenkunde,  IV,  1906, 
pp.  132-142,  and  Belajen,  St.  Petersburg,  1906). 
Some  of  it  was  made  up  of  iron  and  steel,  of  different 
colors  and  degrees  of  hardness,  which  were  "spun" 
or  welded  together  and  then  drawn  out,  bent,  and 
rewelded  by  processes  which  naturally  varied  ex- 
tremely in  the  hands  of  workmen  of  different  talents 
in  many  countries.  Much  of  it,  on  the  other  hand, 
and  of  cheaper  grade,  was  produced  "artificially," 
by  processes  of  crucible  work,  heating  and  cooling, 
during  which  such  components  in  the  fused  mass  as 
slag  and  graphite  rearranged  themselves  in  the 
metal.  Made  in  either  way,  the  result  was  similar, 
but  the  variations  were  marked  enough  to  become 
associated  with  special  localities  and  special  artists 
or  families  of  artists.  The  average  European  cannot 
justly  estimate  the  value  placed  by  Orientals  upon 
splendid  examples  of  this  metal.   Only  in  an  occa- 


PLATE  LXII 
GAUNTLET  SWORD-HILT,   SOUTH  INDIAN 
XVII  CENTURY 
GEORGE  C.   STONE  COLLECTION 
SEE  PAGE  144 


ARMS    AND   ARMOR   OF   THE    EAST  I4I 

sional  reference  does  one  get  an  idea  of  this,  even  in 
popular  literature,  as  when  Marion  Crawford  pic- 
tures in  one  of  his  stories  a  Greek  banker  of  fabulous 
wealth  whose  two  most-prized  artistic  treasures 
were  a  Greek  statue  and  a  Damascus  blade.  Certain 
it  is  that  in  the  markets  of  the  East  a  western  col- 
lector, who  for  the  rest  has  a  well-matured  idea  of 
high  prices,  is  sometimes  shocked  at  the  "mad" 
sum  which  a  rich  Oriental  will  pay  for  a  blade  of 
highest  class.  Several  varieties  of  Damascus  swords 
are  shown  in  room  H.  5,  Cases  O.  51  and  52,  some 
of  which.  North  Indian  and  Persian,  are  exceedingly 
good  examples  of  their  type.  (Lent  by  George  C. 
Stone.)  We  should  not,  however,  look  upon  all 
Damascus  blades  as  precious.  There  are  blades  and 
blades  in  these  as  in  other  swords — every  market- 
place in  the  East  has  examples  of  them,  some  of 
which,  as  in  Ahmedabad  or  Jaipur,  can  be  pur- 
chased for  a  few  rupees.  This  type  of  steel,  we  may 
add,  is  still  being  produced  in  out-of-the-way  locali- 
ties. It  is  generally  known  that  many  of  the  best 
blades  are  richly  decorated  with  precious  metals 
(Case  O.  51)  in  damaskeening;  that  is,  by  a  proc- 
ess which  attaches  gold,  for  example,  to  the  steel 
within  sharp  grooves  or  scratches,  whose  ''burr"- 
edges  are  hammered  down  and  clamp  the  overlaid 
metal  into  place.  In  later  arms  the  damaskeening 
is  apt  to  be  superficial,  and  is  cleaned  away  in  the 
course  of  time.  In  this  poor  quality  of  workmanship 
the  scratches  which  attach  the  gold  are  many  and 
thready.   Arms  of  this  inferior  grade  are  still  being 


142     ARMS    AND    ARMOR    OF    THE  EAST 

made  and  fill  the  bazaars  of  northern  Africa,  Persia, 
and  the  Russian  Orient.  They  are  made  less  for 
parade  than  for  foreign  consumption. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  older  a  Mohammedan  arm 
or  fragment  of  armor,  the  more  substantial  its  make 
and  the  more  beautiful  its  ornaments.  To  realize 
this,  one  need  only  contrast  with  a  modern  helmet 
(Case  O.  60)  the  remarkable  series  of  Turkish- 
Saracenic  casques  shown  in  Cases  O.  55,  56.  These 
date  mainly  from  1400  to  1350  and  are  therefore 
from  a  good  period,  which  saw  the  storming  of  Con- 
stantinople and  the  brilliant  rise  of  the  Ottoman 
power.  The  casques  are  large  in  size,  intended  to 
cover  a  heavy  turban;  they  are  richly  decorated, 
embossed,  engraved,  damaskeened,  showing  either 
geometrical  ornaments  or  inscriptions  from  the 
Koran.    (Plate  LX I.) 

As  noted  above,  armor  from  this  region  of  the 
Orient  has  changed  surprisingly  little.  In  its  essen- 
tials it  retains  the  fashion  of  earlier  centuries.  Only 
in  details  has  it  undergone  changes.  The  early  chain- 
mail  (Case  O.  57)  is  large-linked,  sometimes  showing 
on  each  link  a  stamped  ornament,  which  takes  the 
form  of  lines,  grooves,  dots,  even  of  scriptural 
texts.  Each  link  of  early  mail  is  riveted,  sometimes 
with  two  or  more  pegs  which  pierce  the  metal  com- 
pletely. In  more  modern  mail  the  brass  links  be- 
come smaller,  lack  rivets,  and  are  frequently  of 
various  colored  metals,  showy,  but  of  little  prac- 
tical strength.  Such  mail  is  produced  today  in  out-of- 
the-way  places  and  is  possibly  worn  for  service.  As 


ARMS    AND   ARMOR   OF   THE    EAST  I43 

recently  at  least  as  1907  several  soldiers  appeared 
near  Batum  (Trans-Caucasia)  clad  in  chain-mail. 

The  Orient,  then,  has  retained  a  fashion  in  armor 
which  was  best  developed  in  Europe  during  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries.  And  it  has  gone 
no  further  in  fundamental  changes  than  the  stage 
noted  in  the  armor  of  Europe  at  about  the  year  1400 
when  plates  of  metal  were  used  to  reinforce  chain- 
mail.  Armor  of  this  kind  appeared  everywhere 
among  Eastern,  especially  Mohammedan,  nations. 
Sometimes  the  plates  appeared  as  splints  correspond- 
ing to  rows  of  links  of  chain  (Case  O.  54),  and  thus 
formed  jazerans  (see  p.  25).  In  other  instances  a  few 
large  plates  were  set  in  or  over  the  chain-mail,  as  in 
janissaries'  corselets,  or  in  the  armor  of  "four  mir- 
rors" (chaka  aina),  which  is  typical  of  India  and 
Persia  from  early  historical  time,  if  we  read  Xeno- 
phon  correctly.  These  "mirrors''  are  best  known 
in  northern  India  where  they  are  sometimes  made 
of  Damascus  steel  and  are  richly  damaskeened  with 
gold  (Case  O.  60;  see  also  Moore  Collection,  Addi- 
tion H,  10).  With  these,  small  casques  were  worn, 
with  narrow  camail  (see  p.  38):  also  arm  defenses, 
brassards  (Cases  O.  47  and  60),  which  were  decorated 
in  the  style  of  the  corselet.  The  shield  which  com- 
pleted the  panoply  was  usually  a  round  arm-shield, 
sometimes  of  considerable  size.  At  other  times  it 
was  reduced  to  a  small  fist-shield  like  the  ones  which 
appeared  in  Europe  from  the  fourteenth  to  the  six- 
teenth centuries.  These  shields  are  sometimes  deco- 
rated richly  (Cases  O.  48,  60) :  they  are  apt  to  bear 


144     ARMS    AND    ARMOR    OF   THE  EAST 

four  bosses  which  serve  to  attach  the  carrying-straps. 

So  similar  are  these  pieces  of  armor  from  various 
points  of  the  Orient  that  one  who  is  not  an  expert 
would  probably  not  be  able  to  distinguish  armor  from 
Turkey,  Persia,  Algeria,  North  India,  or  Circassia. 
And  as  we  have  noted,  the  types  remain  fairly  con- 
stant for  many  centuries.  The  arms,  too,  show 
marked  similarity.  The  sabre,  for  example,  changes 
but  little  in  shape,  hilt,  or  ornamentation.  The 
straight  sword,  whether  Hispano-Arab  (Case  O.  50 
and  Plate  LXl)  or  North  Indian  (Case  O.  51),  has 
kept  the  same  "lines"  for  centuries.  The  gauntlet 
sword  (in  Case  O.  46),  though  commonly  Indian, 
extended  its  use  over  a  wide  area,  and  the  short  dag- 
ger with  its  curved  end  and  heavy  handle  is  also  dis- 
tributed broadly.  In  the  adornment  of  these  arms, 
later  ones  notably,  the  Oriental  taste  is  apt  to  express 
itself  in  handles  of  precious  jade  inset  with  pearls, 
rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  even  diamonds  (see  Case 
O.  60,  also  in  Bishop  Collection  of  jade).  In  India, 
especially  South  India,  cut  steel  makes  its  appear- 
ance frequently  as  a  means  of  decoration,  where 
handles  of  fist-daggers  (katah)  are  richly  perforated 
and  sculptured.  Of  these  no  better  examples  are 
known  than  the  seventeenth-century  specimens 
(in  Case  O.  46)  from  the  armory  of  the  Rajah  of 
Tanjore.  (Borrowed  from  the  George  C.  Stone  Col- 
lection.) The  workmanship  here  curiously  parallels, 
or  possibly  copies,  the  cut  steel  well  known  at  that 
time  in  western  Europe  (compare  north  gallery,  H  8, 
Case  82).    (Plates  LXII  to  LXIV.) 


▼ 


PLATE  LXIV 
SOUTH   INDIAN  DAGGERS,   XVII  CENTURY 
GEORGE  C.   STONE  COLLECTION 
SEE   PAGE  144 


ARMS    AND    ARMOR   OF    THE    EAST  I45 

Pole-arms  in  this  region  of  Asia  rarely  show  a  wide 
variety  of  forms.  Halberds  as  ceremonial  arms  are 
practically  absent.  Spears  were  used  largely  by 
horsemen  and,  for  practical  reasons,  could  not  have 
developed  heavy  heads.  The  majority  of  Oriental 
pole-arms  are  made  to  be  thrown:  they  are,  there- 
fore, beautifully  balanced,  light,  and  carefully 
shafted. 

Among  short-shafted  weapons  were  numerous 
forms  of  maces,  war-hatchets,  and  the  like  (in  Case  O. 
49)- 

Bows  are  a  favorite  arm  in  the  East,  and  archers, 
especially  Turkish,  were  ever  renowned  for  their 
strength  and  skill.  The  longbow  early  disappeared 
from  use,  supplanted  by  the  Turkish-Indian  form, 
which  was  short,  made  up  of  layers  of  sinew,  wood, 
and  horn.  A  bow  of  this  type  (Case  O.  49)  was  a 
stronger  arm  than  the  longbow  of  Europe.  Thus,  a 
Turkish  bow  is  known  to  have  had  an  effective  range 
of  four  hundred  meters,  as  opposed  to  two  hundred 
for  the  longbow.    Crossbows  were  rarely  used. 

Oriental  banners  (see  gallery  walls)  are  seldom  rec- 
tangular in  outline.  They  are  not  apt  to  bear  crests 
or  similar  heraldic  devices.  In  their  place  appear 
inscriptions  from  the  Koran  and  the  names  of  the 
prophets. 

The  arms  and  armor  of  the  Far  East,  other  than 
Japanese,  can  hardly  be  reviewed  in  the  present  cata- 
logue. They  represent  a  section  apart  and  are 
represented   meagerly  in  the  Museum  collection. 


146     ARMS    AND    ARMOR   OF   THE  EAST 

Malayan  arms  appear  only  in  the  krisses  (Stone 
Collection),  which,  by  the  way,  are  among  the  most 
beautiful  of  their  kind  extant  (Case  O.  53).  Chinese 
armor  (Case  O.  50)  is  shown  only  in  fragments, 
which  suggest  relationships,  on  the  one  hand,  with 
the  Korean-Japanese,  on  the  other,  with  the  Tartar 
and  other  Central  Asiatic  defenses.  In  a  general 
way,  China  is  singularly  deficient  in  armor  or  arms. 
For  many  centuries  it  has  been  a  nation  in  which 
a  military  caste  had  no  place.  Armor,  therefore, 
degenerated  into  a  fanciful  costume  made  up  largely 
of  embroidery,  tinsel,  and  brass.  Indeed,  should  one 
examine  the  many  antiquity  shops  of  Shanghai  or 
Canton,  one  would  hardly  discover  a  single  example 
of  a  Chinese  helmet  or  sword. 


LIST  OF 


PERSONAGES  AND  FAMILIES  (EUROPEAN) 

WHOSE  ARMS,  PERSONAL  OR  STATE, 
ARE  REPRESENTED  IN 
THE  COLLECTION 

BY  BASHFORD  DEAN  AND 
ROBERT  T.  NICHOL 

In  the  following  list  the  objects  either  bear  intrinsic  evidence 
of  their  early  ownership  or  are  known  to  have  had  a  provenance 
which  makes  their  attribution  reasonably  clear.  In  cases  less 
convincing,  a  question  mark  is  added.  The  dates  here  given 
are  usually  approximate.  For  convenient  reference,  the  objects 
themselves  are  distinguished  by  a  purple  mark. 


NAME 

Aben-Achmet 
(Granada)?  

Abencerage  (see  Ab- 
en-Achmet) 

Albani  (Roman) .  . . 

Albani  (see  Clement 
XI) 

Alexander  VII  

Alexander  VIII ..  .. 
Alva,  Duke  of?. . . . 


Ambrosini  (Bol- 
ogna)   

Asiniere,  Count .  . . 
Augustus  the  Strong 


OBJECT 


Sword  and  Koran  case 


Rapier  

CurtainXdossal),dated 

Banner  

Brigandine  

Embossed  half-armor. 

Two-handed  sword . . . 

Powder  horn  

Hunting  horn  

Powder  horn  


DATE      NUMBER    ROOM  CASE 


1490 

04.3.458-9 

H5 

1580 

04.3.23 

H  8 

1659 

II. 159 

F7 

1690 

14.49 

H9 

1530 

1532 

H9 

1570 

7H 

H  8 

1 500 

935 

H9 

1568 

1 491 

H  8 

1690 

1620 

H9 

1690 

1472 

H9 

147 


148    LIST   OF  PERSONAG 


ES    AND  FAMILIES 


Augustus  III .  , 

Baden-Baden , 

Bamberg,  Prince 
Bishop  (see  Hatz- 
feldt) 

Bassenheim,  Count 
von  

Bassompierre,  Mar- 
quis de  

Batory,  Stephen 
(Poland)  

Benaglia  (of  Ber- 
g  a  m  o  ,  Treviso, 
and  Verona) .... 

Bertrand  de  Goth  .  . 

Besserer  v.  Thal- 
finger  

Biron,  Seigneur  de, 
Pons  de  Gontaut. 

Boabdil  (see  Aben- 
Achmet) 

Bock  (Branden- 
burg)   


"NJ  f  TM  R  n  P 
IN  UlVl  D  t  K. 

ROOM 

CASE 

Hiintinor  Unifp 

I  yoo 

759-54 

H  0 

127 

Rp0jmpn1"al  minpr's 

1 700 

I  ^00 

H  9 

127 

r^arrniispl  Ipnrp"; 

1 700 

1 67, 1 69 

H  8 

Regimental  miner's 

1 700 

1309 

H  9 

127 

1 700 

219 

H  5 

0.56 

Regimental  miner's 

axe  

1706 

1367 

H  9 

127 

Regimental  miner's 

axe  dated 

1717 

1370 

rt  9 

127 

box  of  quarrels,  pre- 

nest  August    I  of 

\X/pim  ^  V 

1 720 

1576 

IT  _ 

H  7 

100 

Short  sword  of  Polish 

guard  

1720 

1 02 1 

H9 

122 

Partisan  of  state 

puard 

1 720 

345 

H  9 

near  05 

Short  sword  of  Polish 

guard  

1750 

1019 

H9 

122 

Halberd  dated 

1580 

12. 141. 8 

H9 

near  123 

Chamfron .  , 

I  ?  CO 

1 641 

H  Q 

near  50 

Armor 

I  620 

697 

H  n 
n  9 

110 

Sword  of  guard  

1580 

14.99.17 

H9 

125 

Partisan  

1550 

366 

H9 

near  65 

Spurs  

1324 

Li  868. 1 -2 

H9 

16 

1730 

1817 

H9 

59 

late 

Stone  monument. . . . 

XV 

16.31. 1 

F5 

Badge  

1450 

774 

H9 

17 

LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND    FAMILIES  I49 


NAME 

Borghese,  Camillo 
(Pope  Paul  V) . 

Bourbon,  Charles  de? 

Bourbon,  Francis  de 

Brescia,  Duke  of. 

Can  Grande  (see 
Scala) 

Capece-G  a  1  e  o  t  a 
(Naples)  

Capel,  Sir  Giles.  . 

Carlos,  Don  

Carocci  (Naples?) 

Carrara  

Castelli  (Sicily  and 
Naples)  

Castile  and  Leon . . . 

Cavalli  (Venice  and 
Verona)  

Cavalli  (Venice  and 
Verona)  

Charles  I  (Eng- 
land)?  


OBJECT 


DATE  NUMBER 


Charles  HI  (Spain) 


IV  " 

V  (Austria) 


Charles  VI  (Ba- 
varia)   

CharlesVI  (Austria) 


Fauchard . . 
Half-armor. 
Fauchards . 
Guisarme.  . 


Bow  and  quiver. 

Heaume  

Helmet  

Feather  staff. . .  . 
Shield  


Badge . 
Badge . 


Fauchard 


Wheellock  pistol 

 dated 

Regimental  sword 

 dated 

Sabre  

Fowling  piece,  .dated 
Small  cannon,  .dated 
Defense  of  upper  leg . . 
Two-handed  sword  of 

guard  

Hunting  knife  

Sword  

Gauntlets  

Wheellock  pistol  

Toe  cap,  and  pair  of 

ear  defenses  of  horse 


Halberd .  . 
Spontoon , 


Banner  

Spontoon-partisan , 


1605 

450 

H  8 

77 

1 520 

716 

H9 

40A 

1575 

04.3.86-96 

H9 

near  10-3 

1480 

I 

H9 

near  23 

1 500 

1585 

H7 

106 

I  5 10 

04.3.274 

H  9 

1540 

621 

H  8 

108 

1510 

.04.3.464 

H  9 

23 

1650 

04.3.107 

H9 

near  1 14 

1400 

04.3.405 

H  9 

8 

1400 

04.3.384 

H9 

8 

1550 

392 

H9 

near  37 

1550 

374 

H8 

near  37 

1639 

10.42 

H  8 

86 

1773 

1025 

H9 

125 

1780 

14.99.10 

H9 

122 

1796 

16.135 

H9 

121 

1523 

1814 

H9 

46 

878 

H  8 

04.3.290 

H  8 

1 07 

1540 

04.3.152 

H9 

127 

1545 

1204 

H  8 

91 

1545 

900 

H  8 

102 

1550 

1425 

H  8 

86 

1545 

20.1 51.7-9 

H  8 

103A 

1600 

349 

H9 

near  59 

1725 

401 

H9 

near  1 17 

1725 

405 

H9 

near  1 1 7 

1730 

96.5.2 

H  9 

near  1 16 

1730 

1817 

H9 

59 

1740 

403 

H9 

near  114 

150     L  I  S  T  O 

NAME 

Charles  XI  (Swe- 
den)   

Charles  Emmanuel 
I  

Charles  Emmanuel 

I?  

Charles  Emmanuel 

I?  

CharIes]Emmanuel  I 
Charles  Emmanuel 

II  

Charles  Emmanuel 

II  

Charles  Emmanuel 

II  

Charles  Emmanuel 

III  

Chesney  du  (Brit- 
tany)   

Chesterfield,  Earl  of 

(see  Scudamore, 

Sir  James) 
Chigi,    Fabio  (see 

Alexander  VII) 
Christian  I  (Saxony) 


Christian  II  (Sax- 
ony)   

Christian  II  (Sax- 
ony)   

Christian  II  (Sax- 
ony)   

Christian  II  (Sax- 
ony)   


F  PERSONAG 

OBJECT 

Dagger  dated 

Vambrace  and 
gauntlets  

Wheellock  pistols.  . .. 

Lance  

Partisan  ■  

Halberd  

Fowling  crossbow .  . . . 

Lance  

Banner  

Archer's  bracer  

Morion  

Pole-axe  

Cartridge  belt  

Morion  

Gauntlet   of  state 
guard  

Casque    of  state 
guard  

Cartridge  belt  

State  halberd  .  .dated 


ES   AND  FAMILIES 

DATE     NUMBER      ROOM  CASE 


167I 

1580 

1590 

1600 
1620 

1650 

1650 

1650 

1750 

1600 


1575 
1575 
1580 
1580 
1580 
1580 
1580 
1585 
1585 


1595 

1595 
1600 
1601 


1295 

96.5.85-87 

1398 

325 
372 

17 
1583 

341 
1822 
161  5 


650 
651 

04.3.68 
i486 
639 
633 

04.3.225 
649 
652 


907 

04.3.224 
L1759.45 
280 


H9 

H  8 
H9 

H  9 
H  8 

H  8 

H  8 

H9 
H  8 
H  8 


H  8 
H  8 
H  8 
H9 
H  8 
H  8 
H  8 
H  8 
H  8 


H  8 

H8 
H9 
H9 


126 

74 

64 

near  1 17 
near  70 

near  80 

106 

near  1 1 7 

near  70 

106 


1 1 1 
1 1 1 
69 
62 
1 1 1 
1 1 1 
1 1 1 
1 1 1 
1 1 1 


62 

near  63 


LIST   OF  PERSONAGES 

OBJECT 

State  halberd  

Gauntlets  

Falconer's  gauntlet .  , 


NAME 

Christian   I  i  (Sax- 
ony)   

Christian    1 1  (Sax- 
ony)   

Christian    1 1  (Sax 
ony)   

Christian  VI  (Den 
mark)  

Clement  XI  

Collalto  , 


Colonna,  Marco  An- 
tonio   

Contarino,  either 
doge  Francesco  or 
Nicolo  

Cordoba,  Gonzalo 
Fernandez  de . .  . . 

C  o  s  s  a  ,  Baltasare 
(see  John  XXIII, 
Pope) 

Devereux,  Walter 
(see  Essex,  Earl  of) 

Diane  de  Poitiers  . . 

Diuvenvoorde  (Hol- 
land)   

Donate,  doge  Leo- 
nardo   


Dorrer  (Nurem- 
berg)   

Douglas  (Scotland). 

Dreux,  de  (see  Lor- 
raine) 

Ehrenreiter  (East 
Friesland)  

Essex,  Earl  of  

Fanning,  Captain . . 

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   


Harness  

State  partisan 
Horse  armor  . 


Armor  for  man  and 
horse  


State  fauchard 
Armor  


Stirrup  

Partisan  

State  fauchards . . 


Partisan , 
Badge. . 


Crossbow  and  wind- 
lass dated 

Portrait  dated 

Revolutionary  gorget 


Hunting  spear. 

Coustille  

Wheellock  rifle. 


AND    F  A  M 

[LIE 

s  151 

DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

1609 

294 

H9 

near  123 

1600 

903  A  B 

H  8 

102 

1600 

904 

H8 

102 

1740 
1700 
1550 
1565 

04.3.471 
279 

IT  _ 

n  9 

H9 
rl  0 

H  8 

near  125A 
near  67 
near  107A 
near 107A 

1575 

708 

rl  0 

XL  10 

1625- 
1630 

04.3.103 

H9 

near  36 

1570 

04.3.270 

H  8 

84 

1550 

1759 

H9 

47 

I  500 

389 

IT  _ 

H  9 

near  35 

161O 

04.3. lOI, 
102 

H9 

near  123 
51 

1600 
1350 

263 
04.3.400 

H9 
H9 

near  50 
8 

1584 
1572 
1777 

1572 
20.1 51.6 
X5 

H  8 

1-1  7 
H7 

106 
134 

1548 

327 

H9 

near  58 

1550 

370 

H8 

70 

1550 

1387 

H8 

87 

152      LIST   OF  PERSONAG 

OBJECT 

Coustille  

Couteau  de  breche. 
Casque  of  guard .  . 

Boar  spear  

State  halberd  


ES    AND  FAMILIES 


NAME 

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  I  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  II  (Aus- 
tria)  I  Wheellock  pistols . 

Ferdinand  II  (Aus-| 
tria)  Couteau  de  breche 

Ferdinand  II  (Aus- 
tria)   


Ferdinand  II  (Aus 
tria)   

Ferdinand  II  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  II  (Aus- 
tria)   

Ferdinand  (Ba- 
varia)   

Ferdinand  (Bruns- 
wick)   

Fernando,  Don 
(Spain)  

Fernando,  Don 
(Spain)  

Ferdinand  VI  (Spain) 

Fonsecas  (Roman) 
(Hayn?)  


Halberd  dated 


Halberd  

Spontoon  of  fusileer. . 
Gauntlets  


Portrait  

Banner  

Pike-spontoon 


Horse  trapping, 


Francis  I  (France)?.  Helmet  dated 

"(Austria) .  Partisan 
"     "     "      .  .  Lance 
Francis  I  and  Maria 

Theresa  

Francis  I  and  Maria 

Theresa  

Francis  II  (Austria)  Banner 
Frederick  Augustus 

(see  Augustus) 


Partisan-spontoon .  .  . 
Partisan  


DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

I55I 

277 

H9 

near  29 

I55I 

373 

H9 

near  67 

1555 

04.3.216 

H  8 

1 10 

1558 

371 

H9 

near  56 

1563 

145 

H9 

near  59 

1620 

1 401 

H9 

64 

161  5 

04.3.97 

H9 

near  28 

161  5 

268 

H9 

near  28 

161  5 

383 

H9 

near  28 

1596 

376 

H9 

near  51 

1598 

96.5.19 

H  8 

near  93 

1670 

275 

H9 

near  123 

1760 

53 

H  9 

near  1 14 

1625 

897 

H  8 

102 

1640 

Li  759.75 

H  7 

1750 

1 1 .181.2 

H  9 

near  29 

1750 

428 

H9 

near  66 

1650 

x6 

H  8 

near  1 1 1 

1543 

17.190.1720 

H  8 

107A 

1745 

425 

H9 

near  1 14 

1745 

426 

H9 

near  1 14 

1745 

431 

H9 

near  1 14 

1750 

230 

H9 

near  1 16 

1800 

1823 

H9 

near  62 

LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND    FAMILIES  I53 


NAME 

Frederick  1  (Prussia) 


Frederick  the  Great 
(Prussia)  

Frederick  the  Great 
(Prussia)  

Frederick  the  Great 
(Prussia)  

Frederick  (Nassau). 


OBJECT 

Flintlock  pistols. 


Frederick  Louis 
(Prince  of  Wales)? 

Frederick  William  I 
(Prussia)  


Frederick  William  I 
(Prussia)  

Frederick  (Saxony). 

Furstenberg,  Land- 
graf  von  

Gaucourt,  de  

Genouilhac,  Gour- 
don  de  (Galiot) . . 

Genouilhac,  Gour- 
don  de  (Galiot) .  . 

Gonzaga,  Duke  of. . 

Gonzaga,  Galeazzo . 

Grasse-Brianfon, 
Charles  de  

Guaita  (Frankfurt) 

Guidobaldo  11  (Ur- 
bino)  

Guise,  Due  de  (Fran- 
cis of  Lorraine)?. 

Gustavus  Adolphus. 

Guzman,  Filipe.  .  . . 

Harstene,  Captain 
H.  L  

Hatzfeldt,  Franz 
von  


belt  

Head  of  banner  stave 
Spontoon  


Pike  

Commemorative 
sword  

Broadsword .... 

Spontoon  in  prince's 
regiment  

Banner  

Sapper's  axe  

Spontoon  

Sword  

Equestrian  armor 
 dated 

Book  of  bits  

Fauchard   

Bit  

Portrait  dated 

Colletin  


Shoulder  piece, 


Gauntlets  

Commemorative 

sword  

Breastplate  

Wheellock  pistol . 


Presentation  sabre.  , 
State  partisan  


DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

1700 

04.3.195-6 

H  9 

121 

I7IO 

1239 

H9 

127 

1750 

H9 

near  1 14 

1750 

236 

H9 

near  1 14 

1750 

Ol 

rl  9 

near  1 14 

1650? 

1153 

H9 

133 

1750? 

I  I  50 

H  9 

122 

I  700 

67 

H  9 

near  1 14 

1735 

uean  v-.ou. 

H  9 

near  52 

1650? 

96.5.52 

H9 

127 

1700 

141 

H9 

near  1 14 

1425 

04.3.276 

H  9 

2015 

1527 

19.13 1 .2 

H9 

E9 

1540 

H9 

T28 

1550 

04.3.84 

H9 

near  36 

1400 

04.3.478 

H  9 

8 

1603 

1869 

H7 

1675 

16.134 

H  9 

1 22  A 

1550 

714 

H  8 

104 

1563? 

04-3-34»35 

H  8 

102 

1650? 

1 1 53 

H9 

133 

1000 

or — 
867 

LI  „ 

H  9 

122 

1630 

1426 

H  8 

86 

1856 

99.6.1 

C32 

1642 

350 

H9 

near  49 

154     LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND  FAMILIES 


Hedwig,  Kurfurstin 
(Saxony)  


Hedwig,  Kurfurstin 
(Saxony)  

Hedwig,  Kurfurstin 
(Saxony) 

Hedwig,  Kurfurstin 
(Saxony) 

Henry  I 


OBJECT 

Armo  r  of  state 
guard  


Cartridge  box . .  dated 
State  halberd  


(France) 


Henry  HI  (France) 
Henry  IV  (France) 


Henry  VI H  (Eng- 
land)?  

Henry  VIII  (Eng. 
land)  

Henry,  Prince  of 
Wales?  

Hohenens,  Marcus 
Sittis  von  (Prince 
archbishop  of 
Salzburg)  

Innocent  XI  (see 
Odescalchi) 

Joan  of  Arc?  

Johann  Georg  I 
(Saxony)  

Johann  Georg  I 
(Saxony)  

Johann  Georg  1 1 
(Saxony)?  

Johann  Georg  III 
(Saxony) ?  

Johann  Georg  1 1 1 
(Saxony)?  


Miner's  axe  

Mace  

Chamfron  

Burganet  

Pistols  and  primer.  . . 

Burganet  

Morion,  cabasset,  and 
shield  


Helmet  

Sword  

Cannon  presented  to 
deVendome.  .dated 


Skirt  of  armor  , 
Pistol-bucklers . 
Gauntlets  


Fauchard , 


Basinet  

Halberds  

Partisan  

Rapier  

Wheellock  pistols 
State  partisan .  . . 


DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

1570 

71 1  A 

H  8 

92 

I  S?! 

I  500 

H  8 

1 01 

I  609 

H  0 

near  123 

1609 

96.5.52 

H9 

127 

1540 

04.3.59 

H  8 

102 

1539 

04.3.253 

H9 

38A 

.1550 

04.3.217 

H  8 

103 

I  so 

H  8 

1550 

613 

H  8 

98A 

1558 

1851,1853, 

H  8 

103 

1580 

1884 
04.3.201 

H8 

109 

1600 

I  193 

H  8 

90 

1606 

1813 

H9 

near  122 

1530 

790 

H9 

near  42 

1540 

745,  746 

H9 

near  40 

I6IO? 

899 

H  8 

103A 

XVII 

459 

H9 

near  67 

1400 

04.3.241 

H9 

10 

1620 

04.3.78-80 

H9 

near  124 

1650 

120 

H  8 

near  89 

1650 

1117 

H9 

125 

1675 

1399 

H9 

64 

1680 

331 

H8 

69 

LIST    OF  PERSONAGES 


III 


NAME 

Johann  Georg 

(Saxony)?  

Johann  Georg   1 1 1 

(Saxony)  

John  III.  Sobieski. . 

John  XXIII,  Pope  . 
Jones,  John  Paul .  . . 
Joseph  I  (Austria). 

Juan  Jose  (Austria, 
natural  son  Philip 
IV)  

Julius    II  (Bruns 
wick)  

Julius  II  (Bruns- 
wick)   

Julius  II  (Bruns- 
wick)   

Julius  1 1 1    (Pope) . 

Lafayette,  General 

Laganes,  Marquis 
de  (see  Guzman) 

Lattisani  (see  Gon 
zaga) 

Leo  X  (see  Medici, 
Giovanni  de') 

L'Espin,  de  (Ant- 
werp)   

L'Espin,  de  (Ant 
werp)  

Leze  (Venice)  

Lorraine,  Duke  of 
(de  Dreux) 

Lorraine  (Charles 
the  Great)?  

Lorraine  (Charles 
the  Great)  

Lorraine  (Charles 
the  Great)?  

Lorraine  (Charles 
the  Great)?  

LouisXIII(France)? 


OBJECT 


State  partisan 


AND    F  A  M 

DATE  NUMBER 


I  L  I  E  S  155 

ROOM  CASE 


Battle-axe. . . . 
State  partisan 


Badge  

Corselet  

Couteau    de  breche 
 dated 


Sword  cane. 


Armor  of  state  guard 

Cartridge  box .  .dated 

Two-handed  sword 
Casque  of  state  guard 
Presentation  sword 


Banner, 


Buckler. 


Spur, 


Partisan 


Morion-cabasset , 


Partisan 


Armor  

Neck  armor. 
Burganet .  .  . 


1680 

1700 
1680 
1680 
1410 
1775 

1694 


1575 
1570 
1571 

1573 
1550 
1824 


1634 

1810? 
1570 

1400 

1570 

1580 

1600 

1 560 
1620 
1640  I 


393 

332 
251 

378 
04.3.407 
Dean  Coll 

369 

04.3.42 

71 1 A 

1 500 

04.3.60 
04.3.222 
19.20 


i«i5 

1826 
750 

1737 

266 

532 

257 

1666,717 
883 
604 


H9 

H9 
H9 
H  8 

H9 
H9 

H9 


H  8 

H  8 

H8 

H  8 
H  8 
H7 


H9 

H9 
H9 

H9 

H8 

H  9 

H  8 

H  8 
H  8 
H  8 


near  29 

near  124 
near  1 17 
69 
8 

near  133 
near  29 


91 
92 


near  93 
1 10 
134 


near  8 

near  57 
near  54 

16 

70 

60 

70 

75 
90 

113A 


156      LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND  FAMILIES 


NAME 

OBJECT 

DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

LouisXIII(France). 

Wheellock  gun  

1640 

04.3.164 

H  8 

87 

? 

Lantern    of  Royal 

Treasury  

1640 

04.3.480 

H  9 

near  25 

Louis  XIV  (France) 

State  partisan  

1680 

454 

H9 

119 

Partisan,  regimental. 

1680 

27 

H9 

near  65 

Corselet  of  state 

guard  

1690 

868 

H9 

1 19 

Partisans  of  channel 

1710 

04.3.64,65 

H  8 

70 

Parade  casque  and 

shield  

1710 

04.3.259,260 

H9 

1 19 

„ 

Banner  

1700 

14.28.2 

H9 

1 19 

Louis  XV 

Harness  given  to  king 

1750 

04.3.471 

H9 

IlCdr  I  2  5  A 

1750 

1829 

H8 

near  1 13 

Banner  

1760 

1816 

H9 

1 19 

Louis  XVI 

1780 

13. 118 

H  8 

near  1 10 

Louis  XVIII 

(France)  

1815 

20.149.5 

H8 

near  94 

Maria  Theresa 

(see  Francis  I  and 

Maria  Theresa) 

Marschalk  (see  Zol- 

ler) 

04.^.67 

iviaiinias  ^/\usiria^. 

Halberd 

H  8 

near  93 

1612 

387 

H9 

near  123 

1612 

461 

H9 

near  123 

„ 

1600 

12. 141 .6 

H  8 

69 

Maugiron.  Marquis 

de  

1580 

1 182 

H  8 

82 

Mauriceof  Orange?. 

Neck  armor  

1620 

885 

H  8 

90 

Maximilian  I  (Ba- 

wneeiiocK  n arque- 

bus   

1600 

04.3.179 

H  8 

87 

Maximilian,  Joseph 

(Bavaria) 

Couteau  de  breche .  . . 

I  771 

370 

H  8 

70 

Maximilian  II  (Aus- 

tria)   

Halberd  

I  570 

08.261.3 

H  9 

near  51 

Maximilian  II  (Ba 

varia)  

Lock  of  matchlock .  . . 

1720 

1484 

H9 

62 

Medici,   Cosimo  I, 

de'  

Casque  of  state  guard 

1550 

04.3.219 

H  8 

107 

Medici,  Cosimo  I, 

de'  

Casque  of  state  guard 

1550 

615 

H8 

107 

LIST   OF  PERSONAGES 


NAME 

Medici,  Cosimo  I 

de'  

Medici,  Cosimo  II, 

de'  

Medici,  Ferdinand 

II  de'  

Medici,  Francesco  1 1 

de'  

Medici,  Giovanni 

de'  


Medici,  Giovanni 
de'  

Medici,  Lorenzo  de 

Memmo,  doge 
Marc-Antonio. 

Mocenigo  (?  doge 
Alvise)  

Monferrat,  Marquis 
(see  Paleologos) 

Monte,  del  (see  Jul- 
ius III) 

Montmorency  

Montpensiei  (see 
Bourbon) 

Moritz  (Nassau)?.  . 

Morris,  Lewis  

Muniz,  Juan  

Napoleon  I?  


Napoleon,  Joseph . . 

Neuburg(Kloster) .  . 

Ney,  Marshal?.  .  .  . 

Odescalchi,  Bene- 
detto  

Onate,  Conde  de.  . . 

Orth,  Johan  (Arch- 
duke)   


Otto  Heinrich  von 
der  Pfalz  

Ottoboni,Pietro  (see 
Alexander  VIII) 


OBJECT 

Halberd  of  guard.  .  . 
Portrait  with  helmet 

Portrait  

Banner  


AND    F  A  M 

DATE  NUMBER 


LIES  157 

ROOM  CASE 


Presentation  sword 
 dated 


Small  banner  

Guisarme  of  guard 


State  fauchards , 
Sword  


Drum 


Breastplate 
Sabre 
Halberd 
Fowling-piece  p  r  e  - 

sented  to  Marshal 

Ney  

Halberd  

Partisan .... 
Fowling-piece 


Stirrups . . . , 
Breastplate, 


Banner  of  Bosnian 
campaign  

Shield  ornament  of 
chamfron  


1550 


1735 

1 516 

I  520 
1490 

1612 
1575 


1700 


1540 
1780 
1659 


I»I0 

1810 
1630 
1810 

1680 
1555 


1529 


32 

Li  759.76 
Li  759.77 
13.116.2 

1203 

1832 
37 

04.3.101,102 
04.3.27 


04.3.469 


1855 
19.134 
20 


L  2010 

85 
297 
L  2010 

1760 
04.3.278 


13.1 16.1 
1654 


H  8 
H7 
H7 
H9 

H9 

H9 
H  9 

H  9 
H9 


H9 


H  8 

H7 
H  8 


H9 
H9 
H9 
H9 

H9 
H  8 


H5 
H  8 


near  104 


near  5 1 


41 A 

41 A 

near  26 
near  5 1 
123 


46 


near  125A 


107 

134 
near  104 


121 
near  1 14 
near  50 

121 

41A 
92 


near  0,57 
83 


158     LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND  FAMILIES 


NAME 

Paleologos,  John?. . 

Pare,  Ambrose? .... 

Paul  V  (see  Borghese) 

Pedro  II  

Peter  the  Great.  . 

Philibert,  Emman- 
uel (Savoy)?.  . 

Philibert,  Emman- 
uel (Savoy)?.  . . . 

Philibert,  Emman 
uel  (Savoy)?.  . . , 

Philibert,  Emman 
uel  (Savoy)?. . . . 

Philibert,  Emman 
uel  (Savoy)  


Philip  II 


III 


V 


Piombini  (Treviso) . 

Pisani,  doge  Luigi .  . 

Pitt,  Rt.  Hon.  Wil- 
liam   

Poitiers,  Diane  de 
(see  Diane) 

Preelaert  (Bruges).. 

Preysing,  Baron 
von?  

Preysing,  Graf  Max 

Quinones,  Count  of 
Luna  in  Leon .... 

Radzivil,  Niclas  


OBJECT 

Ivory  saddle  

Surgical  instrument 


Armor  

Spontoon  of  guard , 


DATE     NUMBER  ROOM 


Wheellock  gun 
Powder  horn .  . 


Key  of  wheellock. 
Helmet  


Halberd  (military 

fork)  dated 

Armor  

Lance  rest  

Gauntlets  

Buckler  (adarga) .... 

Mace-pistol  

Saddle  iron  

Gauntlets  

Gauntlets  

State  partisan  

Banner  

Armet  a  rondelle  .... 
State  fauchard  


Gorget . 


Banner. 


Complete  armor. 
Harquebus  


Badge  

Rondelle    of  tilting 

lance  

Tassets  

Part  of  crinet  

Shoulder  plate  

Chamfron  


1440 

04.3.250 

H9 

9 

1550 

1769 

H  9 

68 

1675 

15. 113. 1 

H  9 

130 

1700 

143 

H9 

near  1 14 

1575 

04.3.180 

H  8 

87 

1575 

1448 

H9 

63 

1575 

04.3.183 

H  8 

87 

1575 

607 

H  8 

109 

1579 

326 

H9 

near  49 

1554 

04.3.278 

H8 

92 

1554 

914 

H9 

60 

1555 

901 

H8 

102 

1 560 

752 

H9 

near  61 

1565 

1324 

H8 

102 

1565 

1678 

H  8 

83 

1585 

19.128. 1-2 

rl  0 

1 03  A 

043 -34-3  5 

H  8 

102 

1715 

333 

H  8 

70 

1725 

09.174 

H  8 

near  89 

1475 

20.1 50.1 

H9 

20 

1735 

04.3.104 

H9 

near  42 

1790 

17.13 

H9 

133 

181O? 

1826 

1 1  „ 
H  9 

near  61 

1630 

702 

H9 

124 

1700 

96.5.29 

H9 

121 

XIV 

04.3.361 

H9 

8 

1575 

885 

H  8 

74 

1575 

881 

H  8 

74 

1575 

854 

H  8 

74 

1575 

856 

H  8 

74 

1575 

21 .42 

H  8 

74 

LIST   OF    PERSONAGES    AND  FAM 

OBJECT 


LIES 


59 


NAME 

Rasson  (Tournai)  .  . 
Ratcliffe,  Thomas 

(see  Sussex) 
Reitenau,  Wolfgang 

Dietrich  von 

(Salzburg)  

Rinschot,  Count . . . 
Riviere,  Baron  (see 

Rinschot) 
Rojas  (Aragon)  .... 
Romano  (Andalusia) 

(Barco?)  

Rota  (Venetian)  .  . . 

Rovere,  Delia  

St.  Pierre-Yette  (see 

Rinschot) 
Salzburg  (see  Reit- 
enau) 
Savoy-Nemours, 

Jeanne   

Scala  (Can  Grande) 
Scudamore,  Sir 

James  

Sessa,  Duke  of  (see 

Cordoba) 
Sigismund,  Francis, 

Archduke  

Sixtus  V  

Smerowski  (Poland) 
Smith,  Captain  John 
Sobieski    (see  John 

III.  Sobieski) 
Soning    of  Nord- 

lingen  (Bavaria) . 

Spaur  (Bavaria)  . . . 

Sussex,  Earl  of  

Teixeira  

Theodore,  Johann 

(Bavaria)  

Tiepolo  


Banner. 


State  halberds . 
Banner  


Banner.  .  .  . 
Fauchard .  . 
Portrait . . . 
Half-armor . 


Fowling  crossbow . 
Stirrup  


Armor . 


Halberd  

Rapier  of  the  Albani. 
Embroidered  hanging 
Shield  


Wheellock  pistol 

 dated 

Partisan  

Gauntlets  

Standard  


Coustille. 
Fauchard 


DATE 

NUMBER 

ROOM 

CASE 

XVIII 

12. 162. 6 

H  9 

near  59 

1589 

328,300 

H  8 

near  80 

1634 

I  Qi  1- 
Ic5I  5 

14  Q 
H  0 

near  75 

1350 

04.3.344 

H9 

8 

1490 

Dean  Coll. 

H9 

1550 

343 

H  8 

near  70 

1575 

Dean  Coll. 

H7 

XVII 

698 

H9 

120 

1650 

1583 

H  8 

106 

1320 

1765 

H9 

18 

1585 

1 1 .128 

u  0 
H  0 

94. 

I D03 

12. 141 .10 

H  9 

near  i2; 

1585 

04.3.23 

H8 

91 

1600? 

1831 

H9 

125 

1585 

04.3.277 

H  0 

80 

I  61  2 

04.3.194 

H  9 

64 

1600 

295 

H  9 

near  50 

1583 

12.87 

H  8 

102 

XVIII 

12. 162. 1 

H  9 

near  2 

1528 

361 

H9 

near  29 

XVI 

12. 141. 5 

H  8 

70 

XVI 

12.141.7 

H8 

69 

1 520 

264 

H  8 

70 

l60LIST    OF    PER  SO  NAG 


ES    AND  FAMILIES 


NAME 

Tiepolo  .... 
Tremouille,  M  a  r  - 

quis  de  la  

Ulrich  V  (Wurtem- 

berg)  

Valmarana  (Venice) 

Van  Houssem  (Am- 
sterdam)   

Vendome,  Duke  of. 

Victor  Amadeus  II 
(Savoy)  

Victor  Amadeus  II 
(Savoy)  

Victor  Amadeus  II 
(Savoy)  

Victor  Amadeus  II 
(Savoy)  

Victor  Amadeus  II 
(Savoy)  

Victoria,  Queen .... 

Villery  (Flanders) .  . 

Visconti  

Werdenstein 

(Swabia)  

William    IV  (Ba- 
varia)   

William 
varia) . 

William 
varia) . 

William 
varia)?.  .  . 

William  IV 

varia)?  

William  V(Bavaria) 


Ximenes,  Marquis 

de  

Zoller  (Bavaria)  ,  . . 


IV 
IV 
IV 


(Ba- 
(Ba- 
(Ba- 
(Ba- 


OBJECT 

Fauchard   

Helmet  

Crossbow  dated 

Fauchard  

Fauchard   

Harquebus  (Pair) . 
Cannon  dated 

Spontoon  

Banner  

Presentation  sabre 

Plastron  

Pike-spontoon .... 

Boar  spear  

Saddle  

Chamfron  

Crinet  

Gauntlets  

Beaver  

Partisan  

Rapier  and  dagger. 
Partisan  


DATE      NUMBER      ROOM  CASE 


1550 

273 

H  8 

70 

1 590? 

590 

H  8 

75/\ 

1460 

04.3.36 

H9 

17 

XVI 

12.141.7 

H  8 

69 

1550 

273 

H  8 

70 

XVII 

1417 

H  8 

86 

1606 

1813 

H9 

near  122 

1700 

04.3.71 

H  8 

near  70 

1700 

04.3.72 

H  8 

llCctl  /LI 

1 700 

04.3.70 

H  8 

near  69 

1700 

04.3.99 

H  8 

near  69 

XVII 

13.102 

H  8 

near  69 

1856 

99.6.1 

C32 

1 560 

794 

H  8 

70A 

1700 

430 

H9 

near  1 17 

1590 

456 

H9 

near  59 

1529 

1653 

H9 

E7 

I  6'i4 

H  8 

83 

I  ^2Q 

1 6^  ? 

H  Q 

E 

1530 

i860 

H  8 

74 

662 

H  Q 

60 

1595 

297 

H9 

near  50 

1595 

306 

H  8 

near  80 

•595 

322 

H8 

near  93 

1600 

1188,1313 

H  8 

82 

1690 

414 

H9 

near  116 

INDEX  OF  NAMES  AND  COLLECTIONS 


A 

Ailette,  38 
Anneau,  67 
Arbaleste,  80 
Armet  k  rondelle,  52 

B 

Banded  mail,  37 
Bandolier,  94 
Barbute,  50 
Barding,  62 
Basinet,  42 
Beaver,  49,  61 
Bee  de  faucon,  55 
Berdiche,  56 
Biga,  26 

Bishop  Collection,  144 
Bombard,  44 
Bracer,  78 

Braconniere  a  tonnelet,  60 
Brandestoc,  68 
Brassard,  143 
Brayette,  39 
Brayton-Ives,  15 
Brigandine,  50 
Buflfe,  71 

Bungakuodori,  120 
Burganet,  71 

C 

Cabasset,  71 
Camail,  38 


Celt,  21 

Cesnola,  General  di,  15 
Chamfron,  63 
Chapel-de-fer,  50 
Chauve-souris,  56 
Cinquedea,  58 
Corinthian  casque,  28 
Cric,  80 
Criniere,  63 
Crossbow  a  jalet,  82 
Croupiere,  63 

Cuir  bouilli  (boiled  leather), 

48.  47 
Cuissard,  28,  96 

D 

Dague  a  rouelle,  57 
Daisho,  130 
Damascus  steel,  140 
Damaskeening,  76 
Deutsches  Stechen,  64 
Do-maru,  122 

E 

Ellis,  Augustus  Van  Home,  14 
Epaule  de  mouton,  46 

F 

Falconet,  44 
Fauchard,  76 

Field,  William  B.  Osgood,  15 
Flintlock,  90 
Fuchi,  131 


* 


l62  INDEX  OF  NAMES  AND  COLLECTIONS 


G 

Glaive,  56 
Goat's  foot,  80 
Gorget-plate,  99 
Guisarme,  56 

H 

Haramaki,  122 
Hashi,  131 
Heaume,  43 

Hunt,  Mrs.  Ridgely,  15 
J 

Jazeran,  25 
Jim-bauri,  124 
Jingasa,  125 

Joline,  Mrs.  Adrian  H.,  15, 
132 

K 

Kashira,  131 
Katah,  144 
Katana,  130 
Kogai,  131 
Korseke,  56 
Kozuka,  131 

L 

Leary,  George,  Jr.,  91 
Lefferts,  Dr.  George  M.,  15 
Lorica  catenata,  36 

M 

Main  gauche,  103 
Manteau  d'armes,  67 
Matchlock,  85 


Menuki,  131 
Mon,  115 

Monell,  Ambrose,  7 
Moore  Collection,  143 
Morion,  71 

Morgan,  J.  Pierpont,  18, 
32,  40,  Plate  xxxi 

N 

Naginata,  133 
Namban-tetsu,  127 

O 

Offerman,  Theodore,  83 
O-yoroi,  121 
Olifant,  40 

P 

Palstave,  24 

Pansiere,  60 

Partisan,  loi 

Pas  d'ane,  67 

Pell,  William  Cruger,  15 

Petronel,  88 

Peytrel,  40 

Pied  de  biche,  56,  80 

Pierrier,  44 

Pike,  loi 

Pilum,  31 

Poitrel,  63 

Pourpoint,  100 

Primer,  88 

Prodd,  82 

Q 

Quarrel,  81 


INDEX  OF  NAMES 
R 

Riggs,  William  H.,  9,  16,  84 
Rondache,  72 
Ruestung,  80 
Runka,  56 

S 

Sabbaton,  71 
Salade,  50 
Scramasax,  33 
Sharfrennen,  64 
Snaphaunce,  89 
Solleret,  47 
Spangenhelm,  33 
Spanner,  87 
Spontoon,  10 1 
Stone,  George  C,  12,  144 
Stradiote,  57 

Stuyvesant,    Rutherfurd,  14, 
18,  53,  60,  83 

T 

Tachi,  130 
Tanto,  130 


AND  COLLECTIONS 

Tapul,  70 
Tasset,  96 
Tesching,  88 
Tsuba,  131 
Tsuchi-ningyo,  120 

U 

Ueber  die  Pallia,  64 
Umbril,  97 

V 

Ventail,  70 
Visor  (visiere),  61,  70 

W 

Wakizashi,  130 
Watagami,  120 
Welsches  Gestech,  64 
Wheellock,  85 

Y 

Yakiba,  129 
Yano-ne,  135 


OF  THIS  HA 
1,000  COPIES  HAVl 
IN  JANUAR-i 

A  SECOND  EDITION 
WITH  CORRECTIONS  I 
IN  MARCH 


A  THIRD  EDITION  ' 
WITH  CORRECTIONS  ANE 
HAS  BEEN  PRINTED  1 


